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POLITICAL MIRROR: 





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REVIEW OF JACKSONISM. 



I send you here a little book, for you to look upon, 

Where you may see a Hero's face when he is past and gone. 

John Rogers" address to his children paroditd. 



NEW-YORK: 
PUBLISHED BY J. P. PEASLEE, 

No 49 CEDAR STREET. 



1835. 



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\'' Entered according to the act»of Congress, in the year 
-J* , ^^35,jDy >. P^PeEklee; in the Cl^k's Office of the District 
V Court of the Southern District of New-York. '^,. . 



N\ >Av^^v^ ^'-^ • *' 



D. Fanshaw, Printer, New-York, 



ADVERTISEMENT. 

It being the design of the following pages to present to tno 
public a condensed view of the great political questions, which 
have long agitated and still do agitate the country, and to por- 
tray, faithfully, the principles and the progress of the revo- 
lution through which the country is now passing — resort has 
been had to the best sources of information and illustration ; 
and in their use the arguments and language of others, have 
been freely employed, without acknowledgment, as common 
stock for the common benefit. The work contains much in- 
formation, upon facts and principles, which is valuable to all : 
it will enable the citizen who interests himself in the public 
weal, to connect events which the broken and imperfect 
channels of the daily journals cannot convey in regular and 
available order ; and will be, particularly, useful to those whom 
general occupation, or secluded situation, prevent from keep- 
ing pace with the measures of the administration and the 
progress of political parties : it contains an abstract of the 
principles, motives and conduct, of those parties ; and the 
Whig, may find, in it, reasons to sustain his own course, and, 
probably, to enlighten and animate his neighbour. Should 
such be the case, he will be in the performance of a duty, 
when givinfl' it the greatest circulation in his power. 



CONTENTS. 

DEDICATION TO THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES. 

1 Dangers to popular government. 

2. Preventive in the Constitution— How destroyed. 

3. Political revolution, what. 

4. Country actually engaged in revolution — may be arrested, how. 

5. Nation divided into two classes— speculative and practical — descrip- 

tion of them. 

6. The nation in danger from conspiracy cannot rely on the former: but 

must depend on the latter. 

7. Appeal, to the practical class. 

8. Notice of public men. 

CHAPTER I. 

OF PARTIES IN THE UNITED STATES. 

9. All free States obnoxious to parties; of what kind. 
10. Parties essential to their safety — When dangerous. 
11 Reasons for this essence of party. 

12. United States fortunate in having parties of a general character. 

13. Character and result of party action. 

14. Momentary cessation of parties in the United States. 

15. Instrumentality of Mr. Monroe in producing this. 

16. The peace deceptive — New combinations. 

17. Candidates for the Presidency easily selected by the old parties— why- 

Course of office. 

18. Calm before the storm. 

19. Rotation in office — what. 

20. The true principles in relation to office. 

21. Such principles acceptable to the mass of the people. 

22. Candidates for office under the ancient parties. 

23. Change in the character of parties — several personal parties formed — 

denunciation of caucus— wherefore.— Candidates for the Presiden- 
cy in 1824. 

CHAPTER II. 

ELECTION OF 1824. 

24. General Andrew Jackson selected as a candidate for the Presidency. 

25. State of the electoral vote. General Jackson had not a plurality of 

the people's votes. 

26. Election devolves on the House of Representatives. Duties of the 

House. 

27. State of parties in the House. 

28. Mr. Clay and his friends determine the election in favour of Mt 

Adams. 
99. Claims of Mr. Adams. 

30. Remarks on Mr. Clay's course. 

31. State of the vote in the House. 

32. Effect of the Congressional election. 

V 



Vi CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER III. 

ADMINISTRATION OF MR. ADAMS. 

33. Principles of Mr. Adams' administration like those of his predeces- 

sors. 

34. Exhibited in his inaugural address. 

35. Mr. Adams' views particularly liable to misconstruction. 

36. Mr. Adams' wishes in relation to party. 

37. Principles on which he formed bis cabinet — and made appointments 

to office. 

38. Injurious effect of these principles upon his popularity. 

39. His policy, exclusively, American. 

40. Favourite objects of liis policy. 

41. Inducements to the Panama Mission. 

42. Results anticipated by the administration from the convention. 

43. Views of previous administrations on the interests involved therein. 

44. Very important results of Mr. Monroe's declaration. 

45. Character of the Panama Convention. 

46. Deference of Mr. Adams for the coordinate departments of the Grov- 

ernment, in preparing the Panama Mission. 

47. The Mission approved by Congress. 

48. Opposition against it. 

49. Character of the opposition. 

50. Difference of opinion on the American System, no ground for parties 

relative to the administration. 

51. Dangerous nature of the workings of party on the "American Sys- 

tem." 

52. Important that the system should be understood by the country. 

53. Power to lay taxes for other purposes than revenue long exercised. 
54 Interests involved in this question. 

55. The American System becomes, apparently, the settled policy of the 

country — Its scope. 

56. Active opposition excited against it. 

57. Source of the power to enact a protective tariff. 

58. Principles on which it is opposed. 

59. Modified admission of the power 

60. Congress may lay taxes for the regulation of commerce, but not for 

the protection of manufactures. 

61. Various views as to the extent of the admitted power of taxation. 

62. Remarks on the opinion that the power of taxation is limited by the 

enumerated powers granted to Congress. 

63. The right to lay taxes for other purposes than revenue results from 

every construction of the taxing power. 

64. Of the expediency of exercising this power. 

65. Violent opposition proposed to it. 

66. Of the right of the General Government to appropriate its funds for 

internal improvements. 

67. Consequences of a construction denying this right. 

68. Construction supporting renders the Constitution consistent. 

69. Of the extent of this right. 

70. The powers to raise and appropriate monies for the public welfare 

are inseparable. 

71. Such dependence, the effect of design. 

72. Views which support this construction. 

73. What is the limitation to the exercise of this power. 

74. The practice of the Government, what. 

75. The power to make certain internal improvements depends on the 

enumerated powers. 

76. The expediency of using the power for internal improvement. 



CONTENTS. VU 

77. The use cannot be abandoned. s 

Other objects of Mr. Adams' policy disposed of. 

CHAPTER IV. 

OPPOSITION TO THE ADMINISTRATION OF MR. ADAMS. 

79. No substantive difference between the principles of the administra* 

tion and its opponents. 

80. Who were the malcontents? 

81. The question answered. 

82. Inducements of certain southern sections to oppose Mr. Adams' ad- 

ministration. Ilia opponents unite in the cry of corruption. 

83. Removal of the publishers of the laws, inquired into. 

84. Heats produced by this inquiry. 

85. Other subjects introduced for party action. 

86. History of the pretence of retrenchment. 

87. Injustice to the administration of Mr. Adams — Summary. 
8i*. Progress in the formation of a new party. 

8i». A design to control the public press avowed, by Mr. Van Buren.' 

!H). Position of Mr. Van Buren in 18-27. 

01. His measures. 

!)-2. Proofs of the combination. 

93. Components of the combination. 

94. Reciprocal conressiotis of the northern and southern partisans. Mr. 

Van Buren s offering. 

9.1. Object of Mr. Van Bui en's visit to the South. 

90. Motive of the combination illustrated by the conduct of Mr. Ran- 
dolph. 

97. General Jackson selected by the combination. 

CHAPTER V. 

QUALIFICATIONS OF GEN. JACKSON FOR CIVIL EMPLOYMENT. 

98. Claim of irresponsibility for General Jackson. 

99. Reasons for denying this. 

100. Exalted intellectual power ascribed to the General, by an English 

panegyrist. 

101. Supernatural intelligence attributed to him by an Anierican— depen- 

dant. 

102. Exaggerated praise begets inquiry. 

103. Birth and education of General Jackson. 

104. Sf ttles at Nashville— success there — enters into public life. 

105. Proves incompetent to the civil offices to which he was appointed. 
J06. His martial tastes. 

107. Enters the service of the United States — disobeys orders. 
103. He is engaged in the Creek war. 

109. The General's conduct in the campaign. 

110. The subject of great eulogium. 

111. Award of the historic muse. 

112. The General receives a commission in the regular army. 

113. First Florida campaign. 

114. Remarks on the campaign of New Orleans. 

115. Proclamation of martial law. 

116. E.iamination of the reasons alleged therefor. 

117. Case of Mr. Louaillier and others. 

118. The General's conduct rebuked by the administration. _^ 

119. Public opinion of Jackson's character. fjgi 

120. Causes of the Seminole war. 



VIll CONTENTS. 

121. General Jackson disobeys orders in raising troops. 
1-^. Enorniiliesof the Seminole campaign. 

123. Charges against the General. 

124. How disposed of. 

125. The General's ignorance and disregard of the laws again exemplified. 

126. The Florida campaign is not the boast of the General or his flatterers. 
His conduct reprobated by Congress. 

127. General Jackson, Governor of Florida. His tyrannical conduct. 

128. Proceedings against the Spanish ex-governor. 

129. Comment thereon. 

130. Nature of the ordinances of General Jackson in Florida. 

131. Effects of these ordinances upon the inhabitants. 

132. Disability of General Jackson for civil employment as deduced from 

his life. 

133. General Jackson elected to the Senate in 1824, resigns in 1825. 

134. Military glory frequently obtained without ability. 

135. How has the General become popular ? 

136. Admirably qualified as the agent of party. 

CHAPTER VI. 

ELECTION OF GENERAL JACKSON TO THE PRESIDENCY AND COM- 
MENCEMENT OF REFORM. 

137. General Jackson chosen President. State of the electoral vote. 

138. Causes of his election. 

13'J. Doubts of his political principles. 

140. Letter to Mr. Monroe, principles therein supported 

111. The General becomes the slave of party. 

142. Violent emotions of party cupidity. 

143. Avowal of venality by the party presses. 

144. Corruption of the press. 

145. Proscription becomes the policy of the administration. 
14(j. Presidential policy as exposed in the inaugural speech. 

147. New source of power opened for the President. 

148. The nature of this power further exhibited. 

149. Further illustration. 

150. What abuses required reform. 

151. Rapidity and extent of reform. 

152. New tenure of ofiice. 

153. Abuse of the power of appointment— bribery, change of the constitu- 

tion, plan of a great national party. 
1.14. Influence of the appointing power extended and sj^stematized. 

155. President's reasons for changes in office. 

156. Conditions on which members of Congress are to be appointed — appli* 

cants for change encouraged. 

157. True sense of rotation in office. 

158. Present necessity for manifestation of the President's views in rela- 

tion to office. 

159. General Jackson's Letter to the Legislature of Tennessee, disapprov- 

iiig the appointment of members of Congress to office. 
IGO. Many appointments made by the General from Congress. 

161. Number of officers and dependents upon the President in the United 

States. 

162. Case of illustration from Boston. 

163. Case from Ohio. 

164. Case in the War Department. 

165. Case of proposed bargain between applicants. 

166. Case of reward for indecent violence. 

167. Reprobation of the President's course by an administration editor. 

168. Unconstitutional exercise of the appointing power. 



CONTENTS. IX 

J69. Theory of Mi Jeft't'rsoii, in his letter to Mr. Gerry. 

170. Practice of Mr. Jefferson — Case of Col. Allen McLanc. 

171. Gross contrast between the practice and theory of the Jackson ad- 

ministration. 

CHAPTER VII. 

VIEW OF THE PRESIDENTIAL POWER RELATIVE TO APPOINT- 
MENT TO AND REMOVAL FROM OFFICE. 

17"i. Division of political powers in free governments. 

173. How made in American Constitutions generally. ^ 

174. Counter checks in the Constitution of the United States 

175. Every department derives its powers from the Constitution. 

17G. The Governments of the United Stales, are limited Governments. 

177. Singular dread of legislative encroachment. Slender provision against 

the E.xecutive. 

178. Confidence of the first Congress in Presidential discretion. 

179. Analogy between the Executive power in England and America. In- 

road on the legislative power in the former. 

180. Federal Convention did not overlook the danger from Executive 

power. 

181. Provision against abuse of Treasury influence. 

182. Precautions against Exec\itive power, hitherto, vain. 

183. Appoi nting power wisely lodged, with the President : but, it is desira- 

ble that the power to remove should not be so vested. 

184. Remedy for evils arising under the express provision, and under the 

construction, of the Constitution. 

185. Various opinions relative to the power to remove from office. 

186. Reasons for supposing it vested in the President alone. 

187. Reply to these reasons. 

188. Reasons for supposing the power in the President and Senate. 

189. Reasons against such supposition. 

190. Reasons for supposing the power subject to legislation. 

191. Arguments against it. 

192. No experience upon this question when first decided in Congress. 

193. Appointing and removing power in Pennsylvania. 

194. Reasons for the decision of the question. 

195. Prophetic views of the opponents of the power. 

196. Limited views of the power by its friends. 

197. Extraordinary nature of the decision on this subject. 

198. The evils of tins power to be remedied by the people. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

CONGRESSIONAL MESSAGE OF 1829. DEVELOPMENT OF THF 
POLICY OF THE JACKSON ADMINISTRATION. 

199 Settled state of the foreign policy of the United States. 

200. Unsettled condition of our domestic polity. 

201. President's message, 1829.— New propositions. 

202. Change of the constitutional mode of electine President. 

203. Rotation in office. 

204. Protection of domestic manufactures. 

205. Internal Improvement prostrated. 

206. Veto of the President, on the Maysville road bill. 

207. Power acquired to the President thereby. 

208. Oblation to southern policy. 

209. Inconsistent use of the veto. 

210. Character of the Maysville message by Mr. Clay. 



X CONTENTS. 

211. Further development of the views of the administration on the Amer- 

ican System. 

212. Narrow rule of expediency adopted by the administration. 

213. True rule for determining the nationality of a subject of internal im- 

provement. 

214. Other causes assigned by the President for his veto. 

215. Results of the President's policy. 

216. President's power in legislation considered. 

217. Characterof the vetO( 

218. Views of the veto power in the Convention. 

219. Abuse of the veto power by President Jackson. 

220. True objects of the veto power. 

221. Exercise of this power by the several Presidents of the United States. 

222. Effect of the power when Congress is unbiassed by the President. 

223. Policy of the nation relative to Indian tribes. 

224. Prospects of the Cherokees and other southern Indians. 

225. Their relations with the State of Georgia. 

226. Relations with the United States.— Rights of the latter. 

227. General principles in relation to the intercourse between the Indians 

and the whites. 

228. Concurrence of Georgia in these principles. 

229. Relations by compact between United Slates and Cherokees. 

230. United States to extinguish the Indian title in Georgia. 

231. Cherokees demonstrate a determination to retain their lands. Geor- 

gia seizes and divides them. Cherokees appeal to the United States. 

232. The Jackson administration refuse to interfere. 

233. Treaties and laws relating to the Indians disregarded. 

234. The case admitted to be one of great difficulty. 

235. Measures of the administration in relation to it. 

236. How viewed by the Indians. 

237. The Cherokees will not quit their homes. , 

238. President, prematurely, broaches the re-charter of the Bank of the 

United States. 

239. True cause of the untimely suggestion. Government Bank proposed. 

240. Natureof a Government Bank. 

241. Would have boundless and baleful patronage. 

242. Views of this Bank by Committee of Ways and Means. 

243. Committee qualify their reproof in tenderness to the President. 

244. True light in which the report exhibits the President. 

245. Sense of the nation against the views of the administration. 

240. House of Representatives not yet, overcome by executive influence. 

247. Its intractableness ascribed to President making. 

CHAPTER IX. 

HO"W TO DISPOSE OF A RIVAL. 

248. Mr. Calhoun's views in supporting General Jackson. 

249. Magical opposition to his wishes. 

250. Dependence of presidential aspirants upon General Jackson. 

251. Search after means to make a quarrel between the President and 

Vice President. 

252. Success of the search. 

253. Mr. Calhoun made auxiliary to his own injury. 

254. Preparation of the explosion. 

255. The development of presidential hostility. 

2.56. The cxposd. Proclamation of his innocence by Mr. Van Buren. 

257. What should be the judgment upon the evidence? 

258. True view of Mr. Calhoun's conduct in the Seminole business. 
260. Consequences of the quarrel. 



CONTENTS. XI 

CHAPTER X. 

A UNIT FRACTURED BY MAGIC. 

261. The Jackaon administration begotten in the likeness of its father 

262. The Cabinet. 

263. Its centrifugal force. 

264. Mr. Van Buren's resignation. His reasons 

265. Mr. Eaton's resignation, and his reasons. 

266. Expulsion of Messrs. Ingham, Branch and Berrien. 

267. True reasons for the dissolution of the Cabinet. 

268. Private griefs and female influence. 

269. The President seeks to extend his influence into the Washington 

saloons. 

270. Uses of adversity— to discarded statesmen. 

271. Reason for retaining Mr. Barry. 

272. New Cabinet. 

CHAPTER XI. 

ABASEMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. 

273. Mr. Van Buren stoops to conquer. 

274. He announces himself as a candidate for the Presidency. 

275. Is nominated Minister to the Court of St. James. 

276. Ordeal of the Senate. Charges of anti-civism. 

277. Foreign commercial policy of the United States. 

278. Commercial policy of Great Britain, European and colonial. 

279. Contest between America and Great Britain for the colonial carrying 

trade. 

280. West India trade under Mr. Adams* administration. 

281. State of the trade with the West Indies. 

282. Use made of this question in the presidential canvass. 

283. Instructions of Mr. Van Buren. The attainment of the trade a party 

measure. 

284. Unpatriotic character of the instructions. 

285. Previous and contradictory views of Mr. Van Buren. 

286. Act of Congress, 1830, relative to the colonial trade. 

287. That act annulled by the negotiation. 

288. Nature of arrangement with Great Britain. 

289. Consequences of the arrangement. 

290. Avowal of the British. 

291. Mr. Van Buren's disposition to dispense with the laws. 

292. Humiliation of the country. 

293. American produce transported through Canada. 

294. Comments on MrJ Van Buren's negotiation. 

295. Rejection of Mr. Van Buren. Causes assigned. 

296. The President assumes Mr. Van Buren's sins. 

CHAPTER XII. 

VIEWS OF THE PROTECTIVE SYSTEM. 

297. Oppostion to the Tariff" in the South. 

298. Opposition invigorated by the approaching extinction of the public 

debt. 

299. Difference of opinion as to the manner of reducing the debt. 

300. Conventions held by the respective parties. 

301. Sketch of the views of the several parties proposed; 



Xll CONTENTS. 

302. Manufacturing system originated from the South. 

303. Commercial policy of Great Britain. 

304. Protective measures against it in America. " 

305. Capital turned to manufacture chiefly, by aid of joint stock compa- 

nies. 

306. General system of protection introduced — Opposition to its progress. 

307. System should be modified, if it operate unequally. 

308. The allegation of inequality unfounded— Prosperity of the country. 

309. Causes of this prosperity. 

310. Free trade desired by the South— Visionary and impossible. 

311. Additional duty does not necessarily enhance price. 

312. Duty designed as bounty to the manufacturer becomes bounty to the 

consumer. 

313. Protecting duties give a new market for southern cotton. 

314. The import duty is not, in effect, an export duty. 

315. Producer not the payer of the duty. 

316. Producer pays only as consumer. 

317. The South may engage in manufactures. 

318. Agricultural products enhanced by mannfactures. 

319. Manufactures indispensable in vi^ar. 

320. Repeal of the import duty will not increase the exports. 

321. The South claim, the reduction of duties to the revenue standard. 

322. That the duties on imports are paid by the producer of the exports. 

323. That, there is no conflict between foreign and domestic industry in 

our market. 

324. Illustration of the inequality of the operation of import duties. 
.325. Further allegations of inequality. 

326. The contest, is between the southern planter and northern manufac- 

turer. 

327. The interest and the right of the southern planter coincide in free 

trade. 

325. The protection demanded by the manufacturer is against southern in- 

dustry. 

329. Northern manufacturers have no more right to protection than south- 

ern producers. 

330. The import duty does fall on the producer of the export. 

331. The question not varied whether the return of the export be in specie 

or coin. 

332. A change is wrought in the value of specie — How 

333. Condition of the planter receiving money for his cotton. 

334. Other articles how affected by depreciation of specie — in the North. 

335. How in the South. 

336. Summary of the southern statesmen. 

337. Inequality more burdensome by the place of the expenditure of the 

revenue. 

338. Desolating effects of the tariff system upon the South. 

339. Exaggeration, in the views of both parties— Prosperous condition of 

the South. 

340. The South injuriously affected by the tariff— How 

341. Diversity between the interests of the North and South— What. 

CHAPTER XIII. 

NULLIFICATION AND PROCLAMATION. 

342. Efforts of the several parties upon the tariff on payment of the public 

debt. 

343. South Carolina, threatens nullification. 

344. Principle of the resolutions of Kentucky and Virginia in 1798. 



CONTENTS. XUl 

345. Analytical nxpnsition of llie new faitli by a chief priest. 

I. The General Government, ia a compact between the States, not be- 

tween the people. 

II. The right of the General Government to determine its own pow- 

ers, incompatible with the Constitution. 
in. Each party to the compact, has u right to construe it for himself. 

IV. If the State, and General Governments conflict, a Convention of 

States may be invoked. 

V. Supreme Court not competent to decide between them. 
Vf. If competent not to be trusted. 

VI I. The Government is not one of majorities, but one of constitu- 

tional rule, which can be preserved only by the right of nulli- 
cation. 

VIII. And if the General Government attempt to enforce the laws 

the State may secede. 
340. Exposition of the true principles of the American Government. 

I. The Constitution of the United States forms a Government, not a 

league. 

II. Is a Government, framed for the people, from which there is no 
; secession without universal consent. 

• III. The Union is formed by compact, and therefore cannot be dis- 
solved without assent of the parties— Opposition to it is trea- 
son. 

IV. The individual States have transferred to it parts of their sover- 

eignty, and in this transferred sovereignty the United States 
are supreme. 

V. This supremacy vain if any one State may richtfully resist it. 

VI. The Constitution has provided several modes to determine its 

powers. 

VII. Cases cognizable by the Supreme Court. 

VIII. Resort maybe had to elections, when ; And to the power of 

amendment given in the Constitution. 

IX. The Government is one of the majority, within the principles of 

the Constitution. 

X. Consequences flowing from adverse doctrines. 

347. Nullification is disunion, civil war. 

348. South Carolina proclaims nullification and threatens secession. 
34!). And an appeal to a Convention. 

350. President of the United States fostered hostility to the tariff system. 

351. Protest against the doctrines of the President. 

352. President enforced by his position to resist nullification— His procla- 

mation. 
.353. Counter proclamation of South Carolina. 
354. Prospect of civil war in that State. 

:i.55. Adversary measures adopted by the State— and United States. 
35G Sudden change of disposition in South Carolina— Temper of other 

southern States. 

357. Combination of causes for modifying the tariff. 

358. Admirable efforts of Mr. Clay— Their acceptation. 

:«9. Measure of the South Carolina Convention— Injury to the State. 

360. The triumph of South Carolina. 

361. Not due to President Jackson. 

CHAPTER XIV. 

ELECTION OF 1832. 

362. Popularity of the President despite of his opposition to the popular 

will. 

363. Causes for this. 

364. Direct interference of the President in elections. 



XIV CONTENTS. 

365. Appeal of the President to the people. 

366. Effect of party operations on the people. 

367. Result of the election of 1832. 

CHAPTER XV. 

THE ATTEMPT TO TAKE FROM THE NATION THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

368. Reprehension of the attack of the administration on the public do- 

main. 

369. Derivation of the public lands. 

370. Management of public domain. 

371. Cost and product. 

372. Proposition of the President to give away the public lands. 

373. Reasons assigned in favor of this proposition. 

374. Reasons against it. 

375. Mr. Clay's proposition to distribute the proceeds of the public lands. 

376. President's proposition to distribute surplus of public revenue. — Ob- 

jections against it. 

377. President negatives the Land Bill. 

378. Review of his reasons. 

379. Refutation of his reasons. 

CHAPTER XVI. 

THE WAR ON THE BANK. 

380. Control of the monetary system, one of the objects of the Con- 

stitution. 

381. Currency, what. — Permanency and Uniformity essential to it. 

382. Powers of Congress and restraint on the States. 

383. Constitutional right of Congress to establish a Bank. 

384. Considerations of the expediency of a Bank. Its history. 

385. Has the Bank established a sound and uniform currency? 
386 General depreciation of currency — causes and effects. 

387. Contrast wrought by the Bank. 

388. Condition of the Bank when assailed by the administration. 

389. Banking institutions liable to abuse, when — how. 

390. Dangers from combination of Banks — New York Safety Fund and 

Mr. Van Buren— War on the Bank ascribable to him. 

391. Nature of the New York Safety Fund. 

392. Attempt to convert the Bank of the U. S. into a political agent. 

393. Suggestions of the President to Congress. 

394. Opinions of Congress on the Bank. 

395. Application of the Bank for recharter. 

396. Inquiry into the conduct of the Bank — Results. 

397. Bank bill vetoed by the President. 

398. Extraordinary and presumptions reasons for rejection. 

399. Refutation of his reasons by the Secretary of the Treasury. 

400. The President insinuates the corruption of Congress. 

401. The President falsely proclaims the insolvency of the Bank. 

CHAPTER XVII. 

WAR ON THE BANK CONTINUED — SEIZURE OF THE PUBLIC 

TREASURE. 

402. Bank of the United States a depositary of the public revenue. 

403. Condition on which this privilege was granted. 

404. The administration resolves to abstract the depo.«its. 



CONTENTS. XV 

405. Cabinet counrlls at Wasliington — opposed the removal— vvliich was 

sustained by the kitchen cabinet. 
40G. Change of the Secretary of the Treasury made to eflecl ihe removal 

— Mr. Duane, the now incumbent proves refractory. 
407. His views of the object of the removal— The I'rc.-iidcnt's dissinmlation. 
40b. Mr. Duane prepares instructions for inquiry — is compelled to alter 

them by the President. 
400. Results of inquiry. 

410. Cabinet Council of 18 Sept. 1833. E.xposition of the President's 

views. 

411. The President publishes his intention to remove the deposits. 
41:i. Effect of removal on the public prosperity. 

413. Message of the President to Congress, December, 1833. Coninienl 

thereon. 

414. Report of the Secretary— Principles— and facts. 

415. Principles on which he based his power. 

416. Nature of the contract-between the Government and Bank. 

417. Nature of the Secretary's power. 

418. His power to contract with other depositaries. 

419. Practice in relation to this subject. ' 

420. Of the right of this power. 

421. Of the consequences of such power. 

422. Number of State Banks— their condition. 
42.3. Measures for correcting the currency. 

424. The Executive not empowered to regulate the treasury. 

425. The influence of the Treasury — Banks dangerous to political purity 

and to the Union. 

426. Metallic currency- inexpedient and impossible. 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

WAR ON THE BANK CONTINUED — ALLEGED OFFENCES OF THE \ 

BANK. 

427. Reason of fact a.'signed by the Secretary for removing the deposits. 

428. Secretary not warranted in presuming that the Bank would not be 

rechartered — his reasons considered. 

429. Public opinion not against the Bank. 

430. Reduction of the discounts of the Bank refuted. 

431. Charges of mismanagement of the Bank. 

1. That it endeavoured to conceal its affairs, by transacting thera 

through committees, from which it excluded the Government Di- 
rectors. 

2. That it concealed its conduct relative to the payment of the three 

percent stocks. 

432. Charge against the Bank for consulting its own interests — Case of 

the French Bill. 

433. Charge against the Bank of interference m politics, considered* 

434. Case of the pension agency. 

435. Case of Branch drafts. 

436. Charge of multiplying branches. 

CHAPTER XIX. 

THE JUDGMENT OF CONGRESS UPON THE SEIZURE OF THE TUB- 

LIC TREASURE. 

437. Attempt to divert the attention of Congress from the acts of the 

Secretary. 

438. He is protected by the influence of the President and party. 



XVI CONTENTS. 

439. Remonstrances of the people against the removal of the deposits. 

440. Undignified conduct of the President— He is secluded from the people 

441. Disposition of the Secretary's reasons in the House of Representa« 

lives. 

442. Committee of inquiry appointed — Its reception by the Bank. 

443. Committee of inquiry from the Senate— How received. 

444. Report of the Committee from House of Representatives. 

445. Proceedings on the Secretary's resolutions in Senate. 

446. Bill for the disposition of the public monies— How disposed of. 

CHAPTER XX. 

EXECUTIVE ASSUMPTIONS OF POWER. 

447. Exposition of the claim made by the President to control all efficers 

appointed by him. 

448. Rebuke of this power by the Senate, as &xercised over the Secretary 

of the Treasury. 

449. The doctrine of responsibility as set forth in the President's protest 

to the Senate. 

450. Review of those doctrines. 

451. President claims the right, independent of Congress, to manage the 

Treasury. 

452. Senatorial rebuke of the protest. 

453. Efforts of the President to engross exclusively the power of appoint- 

ment. Cases of the Bank Directors — and others. 

454. Case of the Turkish mission. 

455. Defeat of the President's efforts to subject the Senate. 

456. Success of those efforts in the House of Representatives.— Case of Mr. 

Stevenson, the Speaker. 

457. Mismanagement of the Post Office Department. 

RECAPITULATION. 

458. Future influence of the principles of General Jackson— Principles of 

the present parties in the country, 

I. On the President's right of appointment to, and removal from 

office. 

II. On the influence of office-holders in elections. 

III. On protecting duties and internal improvements. 

IV. On the disposition of the public lands. 

V. On the veto power. 

VI. On the presidential pretence to initiate laws. 

VII. On appeals from Congress to the people, by the President. 

VIII. On the right of the Senate to seek and expose abuses in public 

affairs. 

IX. On the obligation of treaties and laws, upon the Executive, and 

of justice and contracts, upon the nation. 

459. The country again divided intp two great parties— the revolution in 

progress can be stayed only by reformation — unanimity indispensa- 
ble to this end. 



TO THE 

PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Fellow Citizens : 

1. • We are admonished by history, that the principal 
dangers to popular governments arise from the interfer- 
ence of foreign nations, either by force or fraud, in their con- 
cerns; or from the corrupt ambition of their own citizens 
seeking exclusive and forbidden powers. Our geographical 
position, in relation to foreign states, happily preserves us 
from the one, but incessant vigilance and activity on the part 
of thes people are indispensable to protect us from ihe other. 
The workings of ambition, are frequently secret and insidious 
and are to bo detected only by the closest scrutiny. The 
grasp of power is tenacious, and demands prompt and ener- 
getic means to loose it. 

2. Our unique and admirable Constitution, in the distribu- 
tion of the political power, has provided excellent safeguards 
against unhallowed ambition ; but these barriers may be broken 
down, virtually or formally ; in either case, the union of the 
Executive deparcment with the Legislative, or Judiciary, or 
the amalgamation of the three departments will convert our 
free government into despotism. 

3. A change in the form of the Government is not necessary 
to political revolution. That will be effected when the sub- 
stantive distinctions in the organs of the Government are 
abolished. Thus, if the Executive, preserving the forms of 
law, but perverting its spirit, seize the public treasure de- 
signed tu be kept from his grasp — if, by the same means, he 
convert the agents of tlie people into the creatures and de- 
pendents of his will, — if, by the abuse of official patronage, he 
control the legislature — or if, by this or other means, he make 
the judiciary subservient to his wishes, he effects a revolu- 
tion as complete as if, like Csesar, he had entered the treasury 
with an armed force — like Cromwell and Bonaparte had, ex- 
pelled the representatives of the people from their seats, or 



'^ INTRODUCTION. 

like James, through another JefFeries, administered vengeance 
instead of the law. 

4. Such a revolution is in actual progress. The administra- 
tion of the country lias combined to vest in the Executive 
department virtually, the whole powers of the Government ; 
and so far has this revolution already advanced, that its course 
can be arrested only by the power of the People. By the 
People we do not mean that portion of society in which 
ephemeral politicians are generated, who, like Esau, will 
sell their birthright for a mess of pottage, but, that mass of 
citizens who have no other interest in the Government, than 
the protection of the great rights of personal and political 
liberty — of personal security and of private property. 

5. Our nation, as every other, is divisible into two great 
classes; which, for want of more appropriate tenns, we de- 
signate, as the speculative and the practical. .-The one con- 
sists generally of citizens who do not live by the sweat of 
their brows ; but is not exclusively composed of these, em- 
bracing labourers who would substitute the work of their 
heads for the work of their hands. In the speculative class, 
where leisure and disposition for public affairs exist, our 
statesmen, great and small, are commonly found. It is the 
proper sphere for party, and is always divided between the 
parties of the day; and though formed of a small minority of 
the people, it directs the national concerns upon ordinary 
occasions; the practical class, comprehending the mass of 
the nation, being moved by its convulsions. But when deep 
interests of the State are endangered, the latter class comes 
into voluntary action, and possessing irresistible physical and 
moral force, compels obedience to its will. Generally the in- 
dividuals of this class, absorbed in their domestic concerns, 
give too little attention to public affairs. Time is necessary 
for instructing and maturing their judgment; but when en- 
lightened, that judgment is as sound as it is conclusive. 

6. To that portion of the speculative class, unhappily large, 
which is bound to the dominant party by the possession of 
official, treasury, or treasury-bank favouis, exposition of the 
errors or crimes of the Administration would be useless — it 
profits by them ; and it may be truly said, that there is no 
placeman nor expectant of place, whether in a high or low 
class, priest or layman, who is his own master. Of this truth, 
we shall give some striking illustrations. But tne practical 
class, whose members neither hold places nor expect them, 
has every inducement to detect and correct abuses: They 



INTRODUCTION. , 3 

are essentially patriotic: With them selfishness itself is pub- 
lic virtue; by the laws of moral necessity they are obliged 
to will their own happiness. 

7. To the practical class of the community, then, we address 
ourselves, with the fbrpose of communicating such light as 
we can obtain in relation to the designs of their public ser- 
vants, in tiie confidence that they will not tolerate the as- 
sumption of unconstitutional power, but will, by the legitimate 
exercise of their force, restore the Constitution to its pristine 
strength and purity. 

8. In pursuit of our object, itn:aybe necessary to speak free- 
ly of the public conduct of men, but we shall scrupulously for- 
bear their private lives, although with regard to public men 
inquiry into these might be lawful: for, as the basis of public 
virtue is private morals, the people have a right to demand 
of their servants that security for faithfulness which a well 
spent life affords. But as virtue and vice liave their insepara- 
ble consequences, of which is the colour reflected upon the 
present by the past, it is scarce possible to refrain from as- 
pierninof to a doubtful action, the motive known to have govern- 
ed, habituall}', the actor. 

Thus, if one have, during life, been the slave of passion, 
arbitrary, and overbearing, prone to enlarge the power en- 
trusted to him, and it become a question whether he have 
illegally assumed power, he must suffer the prejudice which 
his life imposes, as he would enjoy the benefit of a different 
reputation. 



CHAPTER I. 

PARTIES IN THE UNITED STATES. 

9. All free states are obnoxious to party divisions, origina- 
ting either in difference of opinion, on the form of government, 
or on the mode of its administration; or, in the selfish love of 
power, wealth or fame, which seeks individual gratification, 
regardless of the public weal. 

10. Parties are freq.aently denounced, as injurious, in all 
their torms, to public happiness. Party, we are told, naturally 
runs into extremes, — is unjust, cruel, and remorseless in ex- 
cess, — ruthless in its war upon private character — unscrupu- 
lous in the choice of means to obtain selfish ends, — sure even- 
tually to dig the grave of free institutions, and inevitably to 
end in military despotism and unmitigated tyranny. Such, 
we may, unhesitatingly, admit, to be the character of all par- 
ties which depend upon individuals, and, which have no other 
cement than the peculiar interest of their members; and such 
may, possibly, at times, become the character of parties found- 
ed on a broader and more general basis. Still, it appears 
to us, that the existence of parties of the latter kind is not 
only inevitable in free states, bat indispensable to their 
preservation. It is certain, that no instance of such govern- 
ment without party has ever been known. 

11. As laws are indispensable, so are agents for their admin- 
istration. These must have power, subsistence, consideration, 
which render their stations pleasurable and beget desire to 
perpetuate them. What shall check and restrain this desire 
within safe bounds, if it be not a passion for enjoyment as 
eager as itself, but which connected with patriotism, a more 
noble selfishness, seeks the particular, in the general, welfare. 
Again, a free state is in danger from the disposition of one 
portion of its citizens to adopt aristocratic forms and princi- 
ples, and of another portion, to pursue democratic license 
until they rush into anarchy or seek protection against it, in 
despotism. Aristocracy oppresses by the rigour and minute- 
ness of its rule?, and stifles prosperity in the straitness of its 
policy, and is alike jealous of the power of the one as of the 
many. Democracy is impatient of all formal restraint, vet 



P.RTIES IN THE I'MTED STATES. D 

submissive to its leaders; confident, as rash and mutable, in 
its determinations; and while it resists the uniform and sys- 
tematic sway ot" the few, is prone to yield to the arts of an 
individual. The demagcgue is the momentary, but not less 
dangerous, king- of Llie mob, who awaits opportunity, only, 
to consolidate and perpetuate his power. Our Government, 
happily, is neither aristocratic nor democratic, but partakes 
in a measure of both. There will always be in it a tendency 
to rigid rule, which will animate one party, and a disposition 
to an unrestricted demagogical power, which will inspire 
another: but the struggles of these parties preserve the 
equipoise of the state. 

12. It was long the tate, the fortunate fate of this country, in 
its colonial, as in its independent, condition, to be influenced by 
parties of this general character. Such were the proprietary 
or regal, and popular parties, which preceded the revolution : 
Such the whig and tory parties of the revolution, and such, 
the parties which, tor many years, succeeded that event In- 
dividuals, doubtlessly, consulted their personal advantage in 
the choice of party, but the great mass of partisans appre- 
ciated their leaders as the apostles of their peculiar faith, as 
their ministers tor the promotion of the public good. The 
people were like mariners embarked in a vessel, which was 
common property, destined to a haven desired by all. Differ- 
ences mighi exist as to the course and mode of navigation, 
but no portion of the crew souglit to obtain for themselves ex- 
clusive possession of the ship and freight; whatever party had 
the helm conducted the voyage for joint benefit. 

13. Such was the character and such the result of party ac- 
tion, until the close of the administration of Mr. Monroe, when 
it seemed as if the principles of the respective parties had ceas- 
ed to struggle; as if parties, like individuals, having passed 
through the inexperience of youth, and the fierce passions of 
early manhood, had adopted new views of the subjects which 
had divided them, with the sound and tolerant judgment of 
mature age. Each had ceded, progressively, somewhat to 
the other: and the development of the admirable qualities of 
the Constitution, evincing its adaptation to seasons of war, 
as of peace, had removed the doubts and fears which had 
created and sustained antagonist hosts. Their cohesion was 
dissolved, the mat?scs reduced to their original elements, and 
the nation became all democrats, all federalists. 

14. This was, emphatically, termed the era of good feelings. 
The dominant party was disposed to forget the errors of ita 

1* 



6 PARTIES IN THE UNITED STATES. 

adversary, and the vanquished to forgive its humiliation. The 
disputes which had arisen from adverse constructions of the 
Constitution were composed, if not extinguished, by the deci- 
sions of the competent tribunals; and whilst those decisions 
were gaining the solidity and veneration which time imposes, 
no new subjects for dissension appeared above the horizon. 
Universally respected by foreign nations, and unanimous at 
home, a halcyon season of political happiness seemed assured 
to the people. 

15. Mr. Monroe was one of the very few among our states- 
men and philosophers, who believed in the possibility of con- 
ducting the Government without the creation of parties. His 
assumption of the presidential labours was cheered by the 
beatific vision of extinguished party feuds. It was a favorite 
portion of his policy, by the extermination of all party divi- 
sions, to give new strength and stability to the Government, 
and it seemed, for the moment, as if, against all experience, 
he had been successful. 

16. Alas the vanity of human wishes ! This calm was de- 
ceptive. The elements of party strife, like those of the qui- 
escent volcano, were, though invisibly, still in action ; and 
combinations were forminsr, more destructive in their tenden- 
cy, than any which had previously existed. For, to resume 
the metaphor v;e have already employed, the contest among 
the crew of the bark, was about to be, not for the course to 
port, but, for the absolute property and possession of the vessel. 

17. Whilst the members of either party were actuated by 
common principles, little difficulty had existed in the selection 
of candidates tor the first bffice of the nation. In truth, a 
species of orderly succession was growing up which directed 
political honours and emoluments into a specific and narrow 
channel, to the exclusion of many men, who were as capable 
as they were ambitious, to participate in them. Thus, Mr. 
Madison and Mr. Monroe, the chief disciples of Mr. Jeffer- 
son, had succeeded him; and Mr. Crawford, a distinguished 
pupil of the same school, was the heir apparent of their place 
and their policy. In the subordinate offices, this succession 
was also obvious. Upon the death or removal of an incum- 
bent, some relative, friend or connexion of his, known, 
or well recommended to the President, succeeded him. 
Yet, it is a fact, from which a most beneficial lesson may 
be dravvn, that, the public service was never better perform- 
ed than with such incumbents. The true principles in re- 
lation to office were understood and practised. Office was 



PARTIES IN THE UNITED STATES. 7 

considered as a public commission, created for tlie service of 
the people, as the state itself is constituted for their benefit. 
The emoluments of the otiice were not held to be the object 
of its creation; nor rotation in otfice tiie leading principle of 
republican creed. On the contrary, change in office was 
deemed a misfortune ; for, if it did not make an ingrate, it 
made, for the Administration, many enemies, 

18. Could this condition of the state have been preserved, 
wc should have attained, indeed, the highest grade of political 
happiness. Not only was there no fierce contention for place, 
but the principles of the Administration seemed to have settled 
into the ^^ juste millieu,'''' the centre, between the extremes of 
construction, which on the one hand gave too much and on 
the other, too little, power, for the safety of the state. But 
this might not be. If the possessors of power could have re- 
sisted the temptation to abuse it, those vvho coveted it, insti- 
gated by the passion which disturbed the peace of the very 
heavens, would not have refrained from attempting its over- 
throw. 

19. The doctrine of rotation in office, as understood by politi- 
cal partisans, is most dangerous to the Constitution, and threa- 
tens, more than any other, the duration of our system. What 
is this doctrine] It is, that offices are established, not as the 
necessary means of administering the Government, but for tlio 
support of individuals at the public expense, and that tiie in- 
cumbents are to be removed, from time to time, so that the 
people generally may partake of official emolument. The 
immediate effijct of the doctrine is to awaken the cupidity of 
all the idle and ambitious in the land; to turn them from 
every consideration of patriotism in the formation of party 
attachments, and to substitute, for it, a blind devotion to pow- 
erful leaders. It holds out the idea, that, all men are qualified 
for all offices, and decries the value of experience, faithful- 
ness and skill. It invites the momentary incumbent, to fraud 
and negligence — to fraud that he may make the most of an 
opportunity, avowedly given to him to enrich him, and to 
neo-liorence in fulfilling the duties of a station which he 
does not expect long to enjoy. But this doctrine is not more 
demoralizing than it is absurd. It may be acted upon to such 
extent as to be deeply injurious to the public welfare, but can 
never give, to a thousandth part of the people, participation 
in official emoluments. Even were we to limit its operation 
to such as are duly qualified, it must be obvious, that an at- 
tempt to reduce the doctrine to practice, would produce a 
change, every hour, in every office of the country. 



9 PA.RTIE8 IN THE UNITED STATES. 

20. The proper principle is, that pubh'c officers are the ne- 
cessary agents of the people, appointed by them directly or 
indirectly, and removable, for malversation or incompetency, 
at their pleasure, and as the public interests may require. In 
this character, they are entitled to a just and moderate com- 
pensation for service ; and it is the interest of the people to 
continue them in office, whilst that service is faithfully ren- 
dered : And that faithfulness is best secured by making it tlie 
condition, the indispensable condition, of continuance. To- 
vvards its servants the State should pursue the course of every 
prudent individual in his own affairs, and never discharge a 
competent experienced and faithful agent, to receive others, in 
quick succession, who engage with the view of high wages 
and, perhaps, illegal vails, and whose capability for service, is 
acquired at the expense of the employers, — in a word, for men, 
ignorant of their business, who enter upon service, only, 
with the view of pillaging the master. 

21. The propriety of these propositions will be disputed 
only by the office seeker. The great mass of the community 
which lives and thrives upon its labours, will readily admit 
them. The industrious agriculturist, manufacturer, merchant 
and mechanic, will recognize, in them, their true interests. 
To these, it is unimportant who serves them in the offices of 
state, as in the labours of their professions, provided they are 
skillfully served, for a just compensation. Yet, from su- 
pineness wiiich cannot but be reprehensible, they suffer the 
country to be yearly agitated, and the public treasure to be 
despoiled by a few office hunters and office holders, the lat- 
ter of whom, as we shall hereafter see, most carefully avoid- 
ing to practise on the doctrines they have taught. 

22. During the period of the old party contest, there was lit- 
tle embarrassment in the choice of candidates for office. The 
distinguished soldiers and statesmen of the revolution had 
claims founded on service and ability, which threw into deep 
shade the pretensions of new aspirants; and whilst satisfied 
that such candidates represented the principles of the respec- 
tive parties, the mass was content and looked no further. 

23. But the old parties were extinguished, and scarce any 
thing was left in the form of principle on which new ones could 
be organized. Instead, therefore, of two candidates claiming 
the public suffrage, on the score of their respective political 
principles, the nation beheld five, of the same party, solicit- 
ing support on the ground of personal character and influence, 
only. This converted the ]>olitical contest, at once, into a 



PAKTIKS IN THE UNITED STATLS. 9 

personal one ; in which partisans sought, not tho advantajje 
of the country, through party action, but perponal and exclu- 
sive benefits "for themselves, in the form of official honours 
and emoluments. Still, there was a remnant of the democra- 
tic party, which laboured to sustain its former influence ; sum- 
i moning'^ancient partisans to select their candidate, by the an- 
cient mode of caucus, or general convention. But, that, 
which had been the most et^ectual means of party triumph, 
was now reprobated as tyrannical and unjust. The true ob- 
jection was, that it would crush the hopes of all the aspirants, 
save Mr. Crawford; and the friends, therefore, of all the 
others refused to submit their pretensions to its umpirage. A 
strong representation of the old democratic party, however, 
met in caucus and nominating Mr. Crawford, might probably 
.have elected him, had not their candidate lost his influence 
with his health. The rival candidates were, Mr. Adams, 
sustained principally by the Northern States; Mr. Clay, who 
held an interest in the West ; Mr. Calhoun, who having little 
otiier support than South Carolina could give, soon abandoned 
the contest for the Presidency, and became a successful can- 
didate for the Vice Presidency ; and General Jackson, who 
commanded tho votes of several Southern States, and of Penn- 
sylvania and New Jersey. 



CHAPTER II. 

ELECTION OF 1824. 

24. A large portion of the politicians who sought the over- 
throw of the Jefferson dynasty, turned their eyes upon Gene- 
ral Jackson. A combination of circumstances had peculiarly 
fitted him for their purpose. Military success had recom- 
mended him to the populace; some plausible sentiments, on 
the selection of persons for office, and disregard of party dis- 
tinctions, addressed to President Monroe, had propitiated the 
remnant of federalism; equivocal declarations upon protective 
tariffs and internal improvements had made him acceptable 
to the antagonist parties on these interesting topics: But 
above all, ignorance of the Constitution, the laws, and civil 
duties, subjecting him to his advisers, recommended him to 
those whose ruling passion was the love of power. 

25. These motives, though insufficient to effectuate his elec- 
tion by the primary colleges, procured him a plurality of electo- 
ral votes in 1824. But, by the Constitution, a majority of such 
votes was requisite to a choice. Still, it has been said, with 
equal perversity and error, that General Jackson wag, at this 
election, the choice of the people. The aggregate vote ot 
the colleges was 261; of which the General had 99; Mr. 
Adams 84; Mr. Crawford 41 ; and Mr. Clay 37; all who did 
not vote for the General were undeniably opposed, to his elec- 
tion ; and there were, therefore, 162 votes against him. Had 
the choice of electors been, in all cases, determined by the 
plurality of votes, in their respective States, Mr. Adams 
would have received, additionally, 7 votes from Maryland, 3 
from Louisiana, and 2 from Illinois; all of which were given 
to General Jackson. These votes, taken from the latter, 
would have reduced his return to 87; and transferred to Mr. 
Adams, would have given him the plurality ; say, 96 votes. 
This position is sustained, by reference to the returns of the 
votes for electors, throughout the Union, the number of votes 
in favor of the Adams electoral tickets, being 166,112 ; in favor 
of the Jackson electoral tickets, 153,733 : making a majority 
in favor of the former of 12,379 voters. 

26. No choice having been made by the primary electoral 



ELECTION OF 18*24. 11 

colleges, the election devolved upon the House of Representa- 
tives, which is, in such case, ref[uircd to select the I'resident 
from the candidates, not exceeding three, who are highest on 
the. return. These, we have seen, were (icneral Jackson, 
Mr. Adams, and Mr. Crawford. It has been said, without a 
shadow of propriety, tiiat the House of Representatives is 
bound by the spirit, thoucrli not by the letter, of the Constitu- 
tion, to select the candidate who has a plurality of votes in 
the electoral colleges. This must be upon the principle that 
he is the choice of the people ; but the power of the House 
upon the subject is based upon the tact, that there is no choice 
by the majority of tlie people ; and that such majority is 
against each of the returned candidates. Therefore, it is, 
that the Constitution has given to the House independent ju- 
risdiction, unprejudiced by the previous vote. 

27. The election by the House was affected by various mo- 
tives — by sectional preferences, — personal predilections, a 
sense of the superior qualification of one candidate, and the con- 
viction of the incompetency of another. Voting by Spates, the 
House would give 24 votes, of which a majority was necessary 
to a choice. In the primary colleges, counting the votes by 
States, General Jackson had 11; Mr. Adams 8; Mr. Clay 3; 
and Mr. Crawford 2. But, we have seen, that if the votes had 
been governed by the majority of the voters in the respective 
States, Mr. Adams would have had 11, and General Jackson 
8; and by the same principle, the General's vote w^ould have 
been further reduced, by that of Carolina being given to Mr. 
Crawford. Mr. Clay had the votes of three States; yet, as 
the number ot electoral votes therein was less than that 
given to Mr. Crawford, Mr. Clay was excluded from the re- 
turn. But Mr. Clay and his friends controlled four votes in 
the House: viz., those of Kentucky, Ohio, Illinois and Mis- 
souri, which enabled them to determine tJie choice on one of 
two, but not on any one of the three, candidates. 

28. The position of Mr. Clay and his friends was one of the 
most solemn responsibility. They were to determine to whom 
the destiny of the country, for the next four years, should bo 
confided. They could not elect Mr. Crawford ; and if they 
could, tlie shattered state of his constitution seemed, forever, 
to disqualify him for the arduous duties of the chief magis- 
tracy. To have voted for him would have but prolonged the 
contest, witli the agitation and distraction of the country, and 
possibly have defeated the election altogether. They re- 
solved, therefore, to proceed, at once, to the only practical 



12 ELECTION OF 1S24. 

issue, tlie choice between General Jackson and Mr. Adams. 
Here, tlie only question for consideration was tlie fitness of 
the candidates. They could not believe the former so com- 
petent to the duties of the station as the latter : They knew, 
that a faithful and wise discharge of such duties required, 
soniething more than mere military attainments, — the talents 
and virtues of the statesman, — that the General had never 
exhibited, in the councils of the Union, of his own State, or, 
of any other State or territory, such talents; that his military 
career had displayed the want of prudence, temper and dis- 
cretion, indispensable for civil administration; and that the 
elevation of a military idol to the iirst oliice of the state, was 
a precedent pregnant with danger. 

29. His competitor, Mr. Adams, was admirably qualified to 
illustrate the beauty of the Federal Constitution as established 
by the wise and good men who had hitherto directed the ad- 
ministration: Highly gifted, profoundly learned, long and 
greatly experienced in public affairs, at home, and abroad , 
intimately conversant with the rise and progress of every ne- 
gotiation with foreign powers, pending or concluded; person- 
ally acquainted with the capacity of most of the public men 
of his own count) y whom it might be proper to employ in the 
public service; versed in the structure and history of foreign 
governments, and thence eminently qualified to judge and 
appreciate his own; self-disciplined; never seeking forbidden 
power; enlightened by philosophy, and content with that fame 
whicli a just performance of his duties would bestow : the 
country migiit confide to him the helm of state in the fullest' 
confidence of safety. 

Could intelligent, patriotic men hesitate in their choice 
between such candidates? They did not: they gave their 
votes to the civilian, and their choice was alike honourable to 
them and their country. 

80. Mr. Clay has been accused of bartering his influence 
with P.Ir. Adams for the commission of Secretary of State. 
The accusation supposes, that his friends, who voted with him, 
were as corrupt as he is charged to have been ; and corrupt 
too, without reward, for none of them partook of Executive 
favor. Intelligent men do not sell themselves to infamy 
without price. We have shown that there was an adequate 
motive for their conduct, and sound ^reason requires us to seek 
no further. But the charge against Mr. Clay, was confidently 
made and pertinaciously maintained, in despite of that gentle- 
man's well established character, and the fact, that he had 



ELECTION or 1S24. 13 

rvon before tlm rpsult of the electoral vote was known, re- 
peatedly, avowed his intention to prefer Mr. Adams to Gen. 
Jackson, should the contest be between them; and in de^ipito 
too, of the tact, that he had ever been the eloquent and 
rifrhteous censor of the enormities of the military chieftain. 
When the accusation was made, as member and Speaker of 
the House of Representative?, he threw himself upon the 
justice of liis country, demanded to be tried by that country, 
and defied his enemies to the proof. The calumniator is ever 
the coward. Beneath the mask of a pliable tool, the libeller 
lay concealed. The wretched instrument, surprised and con- 
founded by the appeal, desperately accepted the challenge, 
but recreantly revoked his gage. 

31. Mr. Adams was elected on the first ballot, in the House, 
receivinn^ the vote of thirteen States, and of eightv-seven 
members: Cleneral Jackson had, what he should have had iji 
the primary colleges, the vote of seven States, only ;— the 
votes now given from these, and from some representatives 
from other States, an;ounted to 71. Mr. Crawford received 
the votes of four States, and votes from others, making 51 
vote? The votes of the States, were ; for Mr. Adams ; Maine, 
New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, 
Vermont, New York, Maryland, Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois, 
Missouri, Louisiana: For General Jackson; New Jersey, 
Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Missis- 
sippi, and Indiana: For Mr. Crawford; Delaware, Virginia, 
Nurth Carolina, and Georgia. The election, therefore, was 
decided according to tlie constitution, by a majority of the 
States. But the General was excluded, not only by such 
majority, but also by a plurality of the votes ; whilst the whole 
number of the members of Congresfs who refused him their 
suffrages was 141, being less one of twice as many, as voted 
for him. Mr. Adams was, therefore, emphatically, the choice 
of the Nation. Had there been a second ballot he n)ust have 
received a larger vote ; for it is notorious, tiiat, he was the 
second choice of Delav.are and Virginia. 

32. Thus v/as terminated one of the most animated of our 
political contests, in a manner highly honorable to the national 
character, not only in the choice, but in the manner, of the 
election. It was conducted with that calmness and comity 
among the electors, whicli should grace their important func- 
tion. There was neither violence nor trick, nor conceal- 
ment. The voting was by ballot, yet, not the vote of a mem- 
ber was unknown. Great apprehension had been entertained 

2 



14 ELECTION OF 1824. 

by a large portion of the people, that an election by Congress 
would be attended by violent contentions ; but, all bowed to 
the supreme law of the land, which was administered in 
peace. The friends of the rejected candidates submitted to 
the result, with • patience, if not with cheerfulness, and for- 
eigners who watched this interesting crisis in our history, 
beheld with amazement, profound respect for the law, disarm- 
ing the angry passions, — and they, and the nation, and the 
world, derived new confidence in the capacity of the people 
for self-government. 



i 



CHAPTER III. 

ADMINISTRATION OF MR. ADAMS. 

33. The principles by which Mr. Adams proposed to con- 
duct his administration were those of the great democratic 
party of the country, — those of his predecessors — those only 
upon which the administration of the country can be safely 
conducted. They are distinctly delineated in his inaugural 
address, and receive the applause of every citizen instructed 
in the nature and tendency of our political institutions. Wn 
exhibit them, here, as well, for the information of the reader, 
as for contrastinsr them, hereafter, with those of his succea- 
sor. 

34. "With the catastrophe in which the wars of the 
French Revolution terminated, and our own subsequent 
peace with Great Britain, the baneful weed of party strife 
was uprooted. From that time, no difference of principle 
connected either with the theory of government, or with our 
intercourse with foreign nations, has existed, or been called 
forth, in force sufficient to sustain a continued combination of 
parties or to give more than wholesome animation to public 
sentiment or legislative debate. Our political creed is with- 
out a dissenting voice, that can be heard — That, the will of 
the people is the source, and the happiness of the people, the 
end, of all legitimate government upon earth — That, the 
best security for the beneficence, and the best guarantee 
against the abuse, of power, consists in the freedom, the 
purity, and the frequency of popular elections — That the 
General Government of the Union, and the separate govern- 
ments of the States are all sovereignties of limited powers; 
fellow servants of the same masters; uncontrolled within 
their respective spheres; uncontrollable by encroachments 
upon each other — That, the firmest security of peace is the 
preparation, during peace, of the defences of war — That, a 
vigorous economy and accountability of public expenditures 
should guard against the aggravation, and alleviate, when 
possible, the burden of taxation — That, the military should 
be kept, in strict subordination to the civil power — That the 
freedom of the press and of religious opinion should be invio- 
late — ThaU the policy of our country is peace, and the ark 



16 ADMINISTRATION OF MR. ADAMS. 

of oar salvation is union, are articles of faith upon which we 
are all now agreed." 

In tlie policy of his predecessor he saw the line of his own 
duty clearly marked. The great features of that policy, in 
general concurrence with the will of the legislature, were — 
to cherish peace whilst preparing for defensive war; to yield 
exact justice to other nations, and to maintain the rights of 
our own ; to cherish the principles of freedom and of equal 
rights v/herever they were proclaimed; to discharge with all 
possible promptitude the national debt; to reduce within the 
narrowest limits of efficiency, the military force ; to improve 
the organization and discipline of the array ; to provide and sus- 
tain a school of militar}'^ science; to extend equal protection 
among all the great interests of the nation ; to promote the 
civilization of the Indian tribes; and to proceed in the great 
system of internal improvements, within the limits of the 
constitutional powers of the Union. 

35. Such were the principles also proclaimed by IMr. Jeffer- 
son, except that, he did not so zealously advocate Internal Im- 
provement, though he had sanctioned the Bill for the Cum- 
berland Road, one of the most characteristic measures of the 
S3^stem. The improvement of the country by roads and 
canals, by the cultivation of science, and the diffusion of 
knowledge, was the most favorite measure of Sir. Adams' ad- 
ministration; but his views were circumscribed by constitu- 
tional limits, as settled by his predecessors, in the practice of 
years. Less possessed of the public confidence, in advance, 
tiian any one who had before filled the ornce, he v;as more 
obnoxious to misconstruction. But, intentions upright and 
pure, a heart devoted to his country's welfare, and the un- 
ceasing application of his faculties, were the pledges he gave 
for the faithful performance of the arduous duties he assumed: 
To the guidance of the legislative councils; to the assis- 
tance of the Executive and subordinate departments; to the 
friendly co-operation of the State governments ; to the can- 
did and liberal support of the people, so far as he might de- 
serve it by lionest industry and zeal, he looked for whatever 
success might attend his public service. We have all learn- 
ed, of late, how easy it is for politicians to make professions, 
and how little regard, generally, should be paid to them, until 
confirmed by their conduct. To his actions, Mr. Adams con- 
fidently appealed; and, judging by them, his contemporaries 
and posterity v/ill award him the fame of a wise statesman, 
too pure for his times. 



ADMINISTRATION OF MR. ADAMS. 17 

3G. Mr. Adams seems to have liolden with Mr. iMonroe, 
that, "in our country, party was neither useful nor inevitable" 
— an opinion, which from all experience appears utterly 
untenable. The followin<^ declaration, amiable and virtuous 
as it is, made him more enemies, than an act of gross mal- 
feazance miofht have done. "There still remains one effort 
of magnanimity, one sacrifice of prejudice and passion, to 
be made by the individuals thoughout the nation, who have, 
heretofore, followed the standards of political party — It is 
that, of discarding every remnant of rancour against each 
other, of embracing as countrymen and friends, and of yield- 
ing to talents and virtue alone, that confidence, which, in 
times of contention for principle, was bestowed, only upon 
those who bore the badge of party communion." 

37. He made himself the effort of magnanimity, — the sa- 
crifice of prejudices, — which he recommended. With due 
regard to their fitness for their respective stations, his princi- 
pal officers were selected, more in reference to the concilia- 
tion of popular sentiment than to his personal predilections. 
Upon these principles his Cabinet was formed. In the offi- 
cers of his administration, he saw only the agents of the law, 
not, dependents upon the will of the President. In their se- 
lection, he sought neither to proscribe opponents nor reward 
partisans. He removed from office none who w^ere compe- 
tent and faithful, nor appointed any, from other motives than 
the public weal. 

39. But here lay the great error of his policy in relation to 
self. He would be great, was not without ambition, but with- 
out the illness should attend it. What he would highly, that 
he would holily. Could he have been tempted to betray the 
Constitution and degrade his station, by converting his official 
patronage into private property; to have perverted the power 
given for the public service, to his individual use, he might 
have created a party which would have continued him in 
office daring another term. But no man ever came into the 
administration of government, bo wholly unsupported by 
party. Devoted to the improvement of his race, his benevo- 
lence was more universal than particular; more fitted to make 
an imperishable fame, than numerous personal friends. Of the 
arts of popularity he knew nothing ; or knowing, disdained 
them. He professed no other claims to public favor than pure 
intentions, comprehensive knowledge of the interests of his 
countrv, his duties and his legitimate powers— and the in- 

2* 



18 ADJIINISTRATION OP MR. ADAMS. 

flexible resolution, sustained by adequate capacity, to main- 
tain them. 

39. No policy could be more thoroug-hly anti-European, 
more American, than his. He would exchide all further Eu- 
ropean colonization from the American continent; all inter- 
ference of European monarchs, especially those of the mis- 
called Holy Alliance, in American politics ; he would render 
his own country, essentially, independent of European work- 
shops, by fostering- American arts, manufactures, and science, 
and would strengthen her, power, by rendering- her force 
more available through the instrumentality of Internal Im- 
provement. 

40. To these objects, his efforts were directed. His prin- 
cipal measures were — I. The Mission to Panama: II. A lib- 
eral system of Internal Improvepients: III. The fostering of 
A^merican industry and genius, by protecting duties upon im- 
ports : IV. The extension of our foreign commerce, by the 
reciprocal abolition of discriminating duties upon trade >md 
navigation in our own and in foreign ports: V The mainte- 
nance of our faith with the Indian tribes, and the advance- 
ment of their moral and political condition. 

41. I. The object of the Panama Convention, to which Co- 
lumbia, Central America and Mexico were originally parties, 
was to deliberate on the great and common interests of several 
new and neighbouring nations. In such deliberations tiie in- 
terests of the United States were deeply mvolved; and, were 
it, merely, that our Government might be, speedily and cor- 
rectly, informed of the proceedings of the Congress, and the 
issue of their negotiations, it was advisable to have an ac- 
credited agency with them, in such confidential relation as 
would ensure the authenticity, and the safe and prompt trans- 
mission, of its reports. 

42. The objects of the United States in this conference 
were : 1. The establishment of some principles of interna- 
tional law, whose unsettled state had been productive of much 
evil ; as the perpetual abolition, among the American states, 
of private war upon the ocean, or at least such modification 
of the practice as would make the friendly flag protect the 
cargo : the curtailment of the contraband of war ; and the 
proscription of fictitious paper blockades: 2. To consider 
of means for the abolition of the slave trade: 3. Of means 
to deter the European powers from further colonization on 
the American continent, and from interference in the contest 
between Spain and her former colonies : 4. To determine 



ADMINISTRATION OF MR. ADAM3. 19 

in wliat light the political condition of Ilayti Ehould be re- 
garded — a case highly important to the Bouthern portion oi 
our own country : 5. To consider the views of Colombia 
and Mexico in their proposed invasion of the islands of Cuba 
and Porto Rico ; an event which might result, ultimately, in 
putting them in the hands of some European power, other 
than Spain — to prevent which, the United States were in- 
terested by preserving the existing tranquillity of the islands, 
and the peace and security of their inhabitants: 6. To ob- 
tain from the nations of the Soutli, a recognition of the princi- 
ples of religious toleration: 7. To establish general prin- 
ciples of intercourse, applicable to all the American powers, 
for the mutual regulation of their commerce and navigation, 
founded on the basis of perfect equality and reciprocity: 

8. I'o consider the means of making a canal through the 
Isthmus of Panama; a measure of great importance to the 
commercial world, but more especially to the United States: 

9. And lastly, to conciliate the affections of cur sister re- 
publics, by aiding them, at t'leir earnest request, with such 
wholesome counsel as our greater experience might suggest. 

4.'^. These views were not peculiar to the administration 
of i\Ir. Adams. The only proposition which, by possibility, 
might result in foreign alliance, t!ic prevention of European 
interference in American affairs, had been profoundly con- 
sidered by Mr. Monroe, and the commanding position taken 
by him upon the subject, was sustained by the nation. In 
his message to Congress, of the 2d December, 1823, we find 
this important passage : "The citizens of the United States 
cherish sentiments the most friendly in favour of the liberty 
and happiness of their fellow men on the European side of 
the Atlantic. In wars with tiie European powers, in matters 
relating to themselves, we liave never taken any part ; nor 
does it comport with our policy so to do. It is only when our 
rights are invaded or seriously menaced, that we resent inju- 
ries or make preparations for defence. With the movements 
in this hemisphere we are, of necessity, more immediately- 
connected, and by causes which must be obvious to all en- 
lightened and impartial observers. The political system of 
the allied powers is essentially different in this respect from 
that of America. This difference proceeds from tiiat which 
exists in their respective governmeiits. And to the defence 
of our own, which has been achieved by the loss of so much 
blood and treasure, and matured by the wisdom of their most 
enlightened citizens, and under which we have enjoyed un- 



20 ADMINISTRATION OF MR. ADAMS, 

exampled felicity, this whole nation is devoted. We owe it, 
therefore, to candour, and to the amicable relations subsisting 
between the United States and those powers, to declare, that 
we should consider any attempt on their part to extend their 
system to any portion of our hemisphere, as dangerous to our 
peace and safety. With the existing colonies or depend- 
encies of any European power, we have not interfered, and 
shall not interfere. But with the governments who have de- 
clared their independence and maintained it, and whose in- 
dependence we have, on great consideration, and on just 
principles acknowledged, we could not view any interposition 
for the purposes of oppressing them, or controlling in any 
other manner their destiny, by any European power, in any 
other light, than as the manifestation of an unfriendly dispo- 
sition towards the United States. In the war between those 
new governments and Spain, we declared our neutrality at 
the time of their recognition ; and to this we have adhered, 
and shall continue to adhere, provided no change shall occur, 
which, in the judgment of the competent authorities of this 
Government, shall make neccessary a corresponding change 
on the part of the United States." 

44. This temperate and spirited declaration, it is well 
known, frustrated the crusade proposed by the Holy Alliance 
against political freedom in America. Its wisdom was re- 
cognized by the nation ; and to give it efficiency the peo- 
ple of the United States would, had it been necessary, poured 
forth their blood and treasure as freely as in their own pecu- 
liar cause. Few events in our history have done us more 
honour. It is a monument of our foresight, prudence and 
magnanimity; and of our disposition to take counsel from our 
duties, rather than our fears. To have taken any other 
position, or turn from the course which this had opened, 
would have been as unwise as dishonourable. 

45. The Congress at Panama might not accomplish any of 
the transcendant benefits anticipated. It was, in its nature, 
a measure speculative and experimental. Unforeseen acci- 
dents and mischances might baffle its high purposes, and dis- 
appoint its fairest speculations. But its design, the ameliora- 
tion of the condition of man, was great and benevolent. "It 
\yas congenial with that spirit which prompted the Declara- 
tion of Independence ; inspired the preamble of our first 
treaty with France; dictated our first treaty with Prussia, 
and the instructions under whicii it was negotiated, and filled 
the hearts and fired the souls of the immortal founders of our 
Revolution. 



ADMINISTUATION OF MR. ADAMS. 21 

4G. The measure, as the situation of the parties, was of a 
new character. Mr. Adams approached it with due prudence 
and that respect for the co-ordinate powers of the Govern- 
ment which has remarkably distinguished him from his suc- 
cessor. Although the convention at Panama would be diplo- 
7nalic, not legislative, and indeed consultative merely, and 
acting under the declaration, that the United States would 
engage in no discussion inconsistent with entire neutrality, 
he proposed to instruct the representatives of the United 
States to receive and refer to the consideration of their Gov- 
ernment, the propositions of the other parties to the meeting, 
but to conclude nothing without the definite sanction of their 
Government. Nay, although the measure was deemed by 
him within the constitutional competency of the Executive, 
he took no step in it before ascertaining that his opinion of 
its expediency would concur with that of both branches of 
the legislature ; first by the decision of the Senate upon the 
nomination of ministers; and secondly, by the sanction of both 
Houses to the appropriations for giving it efiect. 

47. When, at the earnest request of the southern republic, 
the President accepted their invitation to the Congress, he an- 
nexed the condition that the Senate should advise and con- 
sent to the measure. Of course, the question came before 
the legislature free from all difficulty of the Executive right 
to act in such a case independently of that body, and was to 
be resolved, solely, on its sense of expediency. Upon this 
point, tiiere v/as much diversity of opinion in both Houses of 
Congress. But the mission was approved by the Senate, and 
Bu?;tained by the necessary appropriation of funds. 

43. But the opponents of the administration feeling, or 
feigning, many fears, violently, opposed this mission — a mis- 
sion founded on the interests, the proper feelings, and the 
duties of the United States; naturally following previous acts 
of the Government, which had received the warmest approba- 
tion of the people; undertaken at a time when the principles 
of maritime law, of commerce and navigation were to be fixed 
upon a basis of justice, long sought by the United States, or 
upon the old crude and unilateral system from which they had 
already sustained great detriment; undertaken, too, at a time 
when Cuba and Porto Rico, in whose fate the United States 
have so deep a stake, were threatened ; and contemplating 
the establishment of a wise and liberal international policy. 
A mission founded on such principles, springing from such 
motives, undertaken at such a juncture, and aiming at such 



22 ADMINISTRATION OF MR. ADAMS. 






ends, was characterized as an Amphictyonic Council, preg- 
nant with entangling- alliances, and dangers to our neutrality, 
^ as a religious crusade, and as a temporary scheme for un- 
,w^orthy purposes. 

49. The character of the opposition, however, was properly 
defined, by the declaration of a zealous opponent, that had the 
administration rejected the mission, ^^we should have had 
them ;" that is, that they would have thereby rendered them- 
selves most obnoxious to the nation: And by the pertinacity 
with which the opposition refused to publish, at a proper period, 
the instructions given by the President to our ministers, and 
when the Executive, acting on the responsibility which it 
had been invited to exercise, published them in an open mes- 
sage to Congress, violently suppressed the publication, and 
seized what belonged to the House of Representatives as 
well as to the Senate. 

50. II. The constitutional power of the General Government 
to impose duties for the protection of domestic industry, and 
to appropriate money for internal improvements, has, since 
the year 1816, been strenuously denied by distinguished 
politicians in every section of the Union, particularly in 
Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. 
Although the adverse construction originated in local and 
sectional interests, it found advocates among the speculative 
politicians of every State, and among the leaders of every 
party, by whatever name distinguished. No party, there- 
fore, influencino- the presidential election, could be formed 
upon this question. As at the siege of Jerusalem, the Jews, 
when the enemy assailed the walls, united to resist him, but 
when he was expelled, turned their arms against each other; 
so, the parties of the United States gathered under their re- 
spective banners to contend for power and office, but broke 
into hostile fragments whenever there was a cessation of the 
contest for those selfish ends. The friends of domestic in- 
dustry and internal improvements, united with their enemies 
to pull down the administration devoted to these interests, 
but they struggled zealously to support such interests in the 
legislative halls. 

51. The workings of party on these questions form an un- 
der-plot, in the great political drama, pregnant with danger 
to the permanence of our institutions. And though we are 
not alarmists, nor believe that every wind of doctrine may 
prostrate the Union, we are satisfied that there are senti- 
ments abroad, in the nation, which would make a southern 



ADMINISTRATION OF MK. ADAM8. 113 

civil war most horrible, and most dangerous to tlie perpetuity 
of the Republic. Already have these questions arrayed 
one gallant, rich and intelligent State against her fellows. 
The material for war was gatiierod, the troops marshalled, 
but, happily, the clarion for the onset has not been yet sound- 
ed. The dangers, however, which may flow from this source 
are suspended, not annihilated — the snake is scotched, not 
killed. We tread upon the ashes of unextinguished fires. 

52. These questions are so important that they should be 
universally understood, and would be very improperly omit- 
ted from a review of the political state of the country. The 
p(3wer to protect, by restrictive duties upon commerce, all 
the interests of the nation, and to promote its prosperity by 
internal improvements, belongs to the General Government, 
and will not be less properly exercised, when clearly defined 
and fully comprehended by the people. 

53. The power to lay taxes for other purposes than revenue, 
was long undisputedly exercised; the doctrine and the prac- 
tice being co-nascent with the first revenue law of the coun- 
try. Until after t!)e year 1817, the debt which weighed upon 
the nation required and justified a higii tarifJ' of duties. Jt 
might have, occasionally, been questioned, abstractedly, whe- 
ther, if such duties were not so required, they might be laid, 
even to encourage the manufacture of ships, and the indis- 
pensable material of military defence. But as the revenue 
was indispensable, those most fastidious in limiting federal 
powers, were content, that the tariff' should be so formed as 
to subserve such domestic interests as most needed protec- 
tion ; since it was only a question out of what pocket they 
should pay their money. 

54. But when the debt was about to be extinguislied, it 
became a question, whether the sum whencesoever drawn, 
might not be diminished ; and whether any right existed to 
take money from the pockets of all, to protect the immediate 
interest of some, upon the allegation, true or false, that the 
whole body politic would be ultimately benefited. Upon 
such a question, considered in regard to expediency, there 
would, necessarily, be three parties; one receiving immediate 
benefit from the protective tarif!*; another, immediate injury; 
and a third, who would be beneficially or maleficially affect- 
ed, only, as the restrictions proved, eventually, useful or inju- 
rious to the country. Judgment could scarce exercise its 
functions properly in assigning the respective positions of the 
two first classes. Instinct alone might array them against 



24 ADMINISTRATION OF ?.fR. AI5AMS. 

each oth.^r. But the third class held, as it oiigut, the balance 
of power, v/iiich it inclined, in the construction of the tariffs 
of 1824 and 1828, in favour of the protective sj'stem ; and its 
favourable anticipations have been, abundantly, realized. 

55. That system seemed the settled policy ol the nation; 
and its friends saw, in its product, an accumulating mass of 
treasure, which, properly applied to the improvement of tlie 
country, would create rapid and unparalleled prosperity. 
From ten to fifteen millions a year were anticipated for this 
purpose : and fortifications, artificial ports, roads and canals, 
universities and general education, — stupendous efforts of 
every kind, far beyond Grecian or Roman fame, were beheld 
in the vista. Various schemes for renderinof this treasure ac- 
tive Vv'ere concocted. Among them was that proposed to the 
Senate in December, 1823, by Mr. Dickerson, a distinguished 
member of the present administration, which looked to a per- 
manent, annual distribution of the surplus revenue among 
the States, in the ratio of direct taxation, and which has been 
repeatedly recommended by the present administration. How 
wisely we shall consider heieafter. 

56. This disposition to extend and perpetuate the ^^ Ameri- 
can System,'''' as it was now termed, awakened the fears and 
and stnnulated the energies of its opponents. A stand was 
taken against the constitutionality of the power; and the 
battle which had been often before, and Vvhich must be often 
again, fought, was contested in 1324 and 1823, with unpar- 
alleled ardour, if not with unparalleled skill. The following 
is a succinct view of the position of the parties. 

57. The rio-ht is derived from the first clause of the 8th 
section of the Constitution, which provides that "Congress 
shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and 
excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defence 
and general welfare cf the United States; but all duties, 
imposts and excises, shall be uniform throughout the United 
States." Upon the most satisfactory construction given to 
this clause, the pov/er of taxation extends to objects of a na- 
tional character, for the common defence and the general 
welfare ; and is lim.itsd by such objects only. 

58. But, it is contended, by the adversaries of the pov/er, 
that, the General Government, being one of specific powers, 
can rightfully exercise such, only, as are expressly granted, 
and such as m.ay be necessary and proper to carry them into 
effect; all others being reserved to the States, or to the Peo* 
pic: — That the po^ver to lay impost duties is given for the 



ADMINISTRATION OF MR. ADaMS. 25 

sole purpose of revenue, and la, in ils nature, essentially 
ditiercnt from a power to impose restrictive dutie^^: — 'I'hat, 
the two are incompatible, as the prohibitory system tends to 
destroy the revenue from imposts: — That, the power being' 
granted for revenue only, is abused wiien converted into a 
mean for rearing up the industry of one section of the coun- 
try on the ruins of anotiier : — That, it is a case of the viola- 
tion of the Constitution by perversion ; a case of the great- 
est danger, because the most insidious and difficult to resist, 

59. A modification of this view has assumed the following 
form : Congress may impose such duties as they deem neces- 
sary for revenue, and so arrange them, as, incidentally, and to 
that extent, to protect the manufacturer ; but may not con- 
vert this incidental, into the principal, power, and impose a 
duty substantially, and exclusively, for such protection: Con- 
gross may countervail regulations of a foreign power, hostile 
to our commerce; but may not, permanently, prohibit impor- 
tation for securing the home market, exclusively, to the do- 
mestic manufacturers; destroying- a power they were en- 
trusted to regulate, and fostering an interest, with which they 
had no right to interfere. The admission, here, of a power to, 
tax for other purposes than revenue, seems an abandonment 
of the question. 

60. It has been admitted, also, that under the power to regu- 
late commerce, Congress is not limited to the imposition of du- 
ties for the sole purpose of revenue ; that it may impose retalia- 
tory duties on foreign powers; but they must be for the regu- 
lation of commerce, not fov the protection of manufactures. 
But this argument rests upon the assumption, that the power 
to lay imposts was given for the purpose of revenue. That 
is the very point in controversy, and must be proved, not as- 
sumed. The language of the Constitution is, "Congress 
shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and 
excises." If the clause had rested here, as it did when first 
reported to the Convention, there could not have been a 
doubt upon the subject, for the power would have been unre- 
stricted ; and would have been applicable to all purposes in 
which nations have been accustomed to use it. Those pur- 
poses embrace, unquestionably, among a vast variety of others, 
the protection of domestic produce and industry. If then, it 
is asked, the power of taxation be general, how can it pro- 
perly be restricted to one object ] But is the power general, 
or is it limited \ If the latter, what is the limitation"? 

61. Upon tliis subject there have been three opinions : 



26 ADMINISTRATION OF MR. ADAMS. 

1. That, the power is unlimited ; that the subsequent clause, 
" to pay the debts and provide for the common defence and 
general welfare, giving a substantive, independent power, 
cannot be restricted to purposes of revenue, merely ; 2nd. 
That, the power is restrained by the subsequent clause, and is 
given, in order, to pay debts and provide for the common de- 
fence and general welfare; and 3d. That, the power is fur- 
ther restrained, to such specific objects as are contained in the 
other enumerated powers of the Constitution. It is unneces- 
sary to dwell upon the first two opinions. Either gives all 
that the advocates of the American System require. Since, 
by no rational construction, can the power for laying taxes for 
the public welfare, be restricted to the purpose of revenue, as 
the public welfare may, unquestionably, be promoted by taxes 
other than for revenue. 

62. But with regard to the third opinion, we may remark,, 
that, if revenue be not the sole and exclusive mean of giving 
effect to the enumerated powers of the Constitution, the ad- 
vocates of this doctrine must maintain, v;ith those of the se- 
cond opinion, that the power of taxation is not limited to pur- 
poses of revenue. Now, it is perfectly clear, that such enu- 
merated powers have other means to effectuate them than 
revenue. Thus, the power "to regulate commerce" is ren- 
dered effective by taxes which countervail foreign monopo- 
lies, and adverse commercial restrictions; — the povv^er to coin 
money and regulate its value may be operative by a tax on 
foreign coin; — the power to provide for organizing, arming 
and discipling the militia, by a tax upon foreign arms, to en- 
courage the domestic manufacture; — and the power to de- 
clare war, with its auxiliaries, may be effectuated by a tax 
prohibiting foreign, in order to secure a permanent domestic, 
supply of the munitions of war. If taxes may be laid in 
these, and like cases, then the enumerated ])owers require 
the power to lay taxes, to be more extensively construed than 
for purposes of revenue. It is no answer to this argument to 
say, that the power of taxation, though in its nature only a 
))ower to raise revenue, may be resorted to, as an implied 
power to give effect to the enumerated powers. That would 
be to aver, that an express, is not co-extensive with an i/n- 
plied, power to lay taxes, — that when the power is expressed, 
it means a power to raise revenue, only; but when implied, it 
has no regard to this object. How then, is a case of mixed 
nature, where, in the law, revenue is blended with other ob- 
jects, to be dealt with 1 



ADMINISTRATION OP MK- ADAMS. 27 

63. if, then, the power to lay taxes be restricted to cases 
within tlie enumerated powers, still it is not confined to reve- 
nue, but extends to all other objects within the scope of such 
powers. Where the power is expressly g^iven, we are not at 
liberty to say it is implied. Being- given, it may certainly be 
used to eflectuatc all the powers to which it is appropriate ; 
not because it may be implied in the grant of such powers, 
but because it is expressly granted as a substantive power, 
and may be used, of course, as auxiliary to them. Thus, 
whatever construction be given to the power of laying taxes, 
we attain the conclusion, that such power is not confined to 
purposes of revenue, but that it is, at the discretion of Con- 
gress, to be exercised for promoting the common defence and 
general welfare. 

64. The expediency of exercising this power, depends upon 
many and various considerations. Whilst all must admit the 
wisdom of its exercise in the protection of the general in- 
terests of the country, as commerce and agriculture, and such 
branches of manufacture as are indispensable in war; all must 
recognize the impolicy of its use, when it subserves the in- 
terests of the few, but oppresses the many. In the case of 
manufactures, there seems to exist a tolerable safe rule. If 
the manufacturer can now, or at a proximate time, supply the 
demand of the country in competent quantity and quality, and 
at a price as advantageous as the foreigner, there can be no 
substantial reason opposed to protecting him, by discriminating 
duties, against the foreign artist. In such case, domestic com- 
petition will soon remove the evil of monopoly. But if the 
manufacturer cannot comply with these requisites, it would be 
an act of oppression upon the community, to tax them for his 
benefit. He would have a monopoly as odious as unjust. In 
the application of the foregoing rule, some latitude may be 
allowable in determining what proximation to the qualities 
above stated as pre-requisite, may warrant the protection. 
This is a case solely for the wisdom of Congress; and if it 
were the only one, the subject would possess little difficulty. 

65. But a small minority of the Union have, or think they 
have, interests in relation to it, irreconcilable with those of 
the majority; and taking the ground, that, the power claimed 
by the majority is not only inexpedient, but is unconstitution- 
ally and unwarrantably assumed, they refuse, or may refuse, 
obedience to the general law. When such a case is serious- 
ly made and resolutely prosecuted, our citizens mu.st calcu- 
late the value of the Union. If it be worth preserving, we 



as ADM1MSTRA.T10N OF MR. ADAMS. 

must, in the spirit of compromise, ever essential to our safety, 
yield a portion of the general advantages, or, in other words, 
submit to the evil of insufficient restriction, or we must en- 
force obedience to the law. If the Union be not worth pre- 
serving, the refractory State must fall from our brilliant 
gulaxy, and be converted, like other fallen stars, into a loath- 
some mass ; and its citizens, as the citizens of every other 
foreign State, be enemies in war, in peace, friends. But Cain 
was not so accursed, as will he be, who shall consummate this 
work. The brand of infamy burnt not so brightly upon the 
brow of him who mocked his Saviour, as it will upon the 
front of him who shall thus impair a Union, in whicii centres 
the world's hope of political happiness, 

66. III. The right of the General Government to appropriate 
monies raised by taxation or otherivhe, would seem to be as 
clear as the right to levy taxes for the common defence and 
general welfare. Both depend upon the same clause of the 
Constitution; the second part giving the right to appropriate 
the public money. If it be not given by it, it is not given at 
all ; there being no other grant in the Contitution which gives 
it directly, or which bears upon the subject, even by implica- 
tion, unless it be the prohibition to appropriate money for the 
support of armies for a longer terra than two years, or tiie pro- 
hibition to draw money from the treasury, without an appropria- 
tion made by law. This part of the grant gives no distinct and 
original power. It is manifestly incidental to the objects of 
the first part, giving the power to lay taxes. If both parts be 
taken together, it seems impossible to give to the latter any 
other construction than that contended for; inasmuch as that 
enumerates the objects to which the public money may be ap- 
propriated. 

67. If such be not the true construction of the words, to pro- 
vide for the common defence and general welfare, they have ei- 
ther no import, or one much greater, in extent, than the first 
words of the clause. Either presumption is unwarranted; the 
first, because no part of the Constitution can be deemed useless 
or unmeaning ; the second, because such construction makes the 
second part of the clause an original grant, embracing the 
same objects with the first, but with greater power; which 
is absurd. The order observed in the grants made by the 
Constitution, is to give the power in the fullest manner, and 
then to qualify it, when necessary. Again, if the clause be 
not an authority to appropriate the public money, it conveys 
indefinite and unlimited power; dispensing witli the special 
powers to raise and support armies and a navy ; to call forth 



ADMINISTRATION OF MR. ADAMS. 29 

the militia, or even to lay and collect taxes. An unqualified 
power " to pay tiie debts and provide for the common defence 
and general welfare," if a distinct and separate grant, would 
extend to every object of public interest. The power to pro- 
vide for the common defence would give to Congress the 
command of the whole force, with all the resources of the 
Union ; but an unqualified right to provide for the general 
welfare would go much further; would break down the bar- 
riers between the States and the General Government, and 
consolidate the whole under the latter. 

63. Hut, if the clause be construed to mean nothing more 
than a grant of power to appropriate the public money, every 
word has an important meaning and effect; and all grants 
of power by the Constitution have full operation. The great 
scheme is consistent in all its parts. We have a government 
instituted for national purposes, vested with adequate powers, 
commencing with the most important, that of revenue, and 
proceeding in order to all the others — all formed with the 
utmost care and circumspection. How much more consist- 
ent is this inference with the great objects of the institu- 
tion, and with the wisdom of those who framed and those who 
ratified it, than one which subverts every sound principle of 
construction, and throws all things into confusion ! 

69. The power being settled, as in the General Govern- 
ment, it becomes necessary to determine what is its extent. 
It is contended, on one side, that the National Government, 
being one of limited powers, has no right to expend money, 
except in cases authorized by specific grants, according to a 
strict construction of them. , Tiiat the clause relied on does 
not, in either of its branches, give to Congress discretionary 
power of any kind ; but is merely an auxiliary to effect the 
other grants. But the power to raise, and the power to ap- 
propriate monies, flowing from the clause, is alike general 
and unqualified. Each branch was, obviously, drawn with a 
view to the other; the import of each illustrates that of the 
other: and all the powers given by the Constitution with- 
out qualification, must be exercised without other check than 
the responsibility of the representative to his constituents. 

70. So intimately connected with, and dependent upon, 
each other are the two branches of this clause, that the limit- 
ation of one would have been a limitation of the other. Had 
the power to raise money been restricted to special purposes, 
so would have been the power of appropriation. So, if the 
power of appropriation had been restricted to definite objects, 



30 ADMINISTRATION OF MR. ADAMS. 

it would liave been useless and improper to raise more funds 
than would be adequate to those purposes. 

71. It cannot be doubted that this correspondence and de- 
pendence was the result of design. For it would have been 
impossible to have subjected tlie grant in either branch to re- 
striction, without serious embarrassment to the Government. 
Thus, had the exercise of the grant depended on the States it 
would have been in the helpless, hopeless condition of the 
confederation: Had the assent of the tSupreme Court, or 
other tribunal, been requisite, the operations of the Govern- 
ment might have been suspended, and the system disorgan- 
ized. 

72. Many weighty considerations support the construction 
which has been adopted : Under it, the words " to provide 
for the common defence and general welfare," have a defi- 
nite, safe and useful meaning : The idea of their giving un- 
limited power, superceding every other, is abandoned : They 
will be considered as granting a right of appropriation indis- 
pensable to that of raising revenue, and necessary to every 
species of expenditure : By it, no new power will be taken 
from the States ; the money to be appropriated being raised 
under a power already granted : By it, too, the motive for 
strained construction to other and specific grants, will be 
greatly diminished; an effect which cannot be too highly ap- 
preciated, when we consider that to whatever extent any 
specific power may be carried, the right of jurisdiction pur- 
sues it in all its incidents. The important agency of this 
grant in effecting every other, is a powerful argument in fa- 
vour of our construction. All other grants are limited by the 
nature of the offices they respectively perform; each convey- 
ing a special power only ; this is co-extensive with the scheme 
of the Government itself. 

73. If, then, the right to raise and appropriate the public 
money, be not restricted to the expenditures under the other 
specific grants, according toastrictconstructionof their pow- 
ers, respectively, is there no limitation to it? The answer is 
affirmative : That, tjje limitation is in the purposes for which 
the nation was organized, and those purposes only. Congress 
cannot apply money for the exclusive benefit of a State or dis- 
trict: But, any measure which has an aspect of national 
benefit, however small in itself, as a pier in a river, the im- 
provement of the navigation of a petty stream pertaining to 
some general system, is within their power. It may be that 
the office of discriminating between local and general im- 



ADMINISTRATION OF MR. ADAMS. 31 

provementa is tlifflcult; but it is the office of the legislature, 
and the difficulty is couimon to every exercise of judgment. 

74. The practice of the Government lias been conformable 
to the principles we have laid down. Appropriations have 
never been limited to cases falling within the specific powers 
enumerated in the Constitution, whether such powers be 
taken in their broad or narrow sense: but have been 
made to a vast variety of objects, showing a conviction of 
an almost indefinite power for tliis purpose. Thus, in aid 
of internal improvements, appropriations have been made 
for roads, rivers, and canals; for military pensions, to 
the annual amount of millions; for charity, as in the cases of 
the St. Domingo refugees, in 1794, and the citizens of Vene- 
zuela, who suftered from an eartiiquake in 1812, on motion 
of Mr. Macon; and for the relief of the inhabitants of theCa-^ 
nary Islands, on motion of the consistent John Randolph; 
end for the encouragement of domestic industry, as in boun» 
ties upon the cod fishery. Every President of the United States, 
Mr. Madison not excepted, has concurred in this construction. 

75. Although the power of Congress over appropriations 
for internal improvements may be ample for all purposes, many 
such improvements might be founded on the enumerated 
powers. And from such powers are deduced the right claimed 
for Congress actually to engage in making such improve- 
ments, as are incidental thereto. The exercise of such right has 
been long submitted to, in most cases without objection. 
Thus Congress may make a canal as incident to the power to 
regulate commerce: may build light-houses, piers, buoys and 
beacons for the purposes of navigation ; custom-houses, reve- 
nue cutters, and ware-houses, as incident to the power to lay 
and collect taxes: may purchase land, erect forts, arsenals, 
dock yards, navy yards, and magazines, as incidents to the 
power to make war, and may, as incident to the same power, 
make a military road. 

76. The expediency of using the power of the General 
Government in aid of internal improvements, depends on the na- 
ture of the case for which aid is requested. Whilst there are 
bbjects, such as the great chain of internal coast navigation, 
which all admit to be of national interest, there will be thou- 
sands of projects presented for consideration, which partake little 
of such character, and which can be carried through Congress, 
only, by a system of reciprocation, well known in our legis- 
latures by the name of " log rolling;" a most dangerous species 
of corruption, because the actors in it conceal its depravity from 



32 ADMINISTRATION OF MR. ADAMS. 

themselves. Another circumstance is well worthy of considera- 
tion in exercising this power. The patronage of the Govern- 
ment has increased, is increasing, and ought to be diminished. 
The danger to the Constitution from this source grows daily 
more imminent. If the Government engage in the execution 
of projects of internal improvement, it will have, necessarily, 
many agents, and as many dependents as agents, under its 
control, subservient to the will of the Executive. The dan- 
ger from this source has become greatly increased from the 
new construction given by the President to the power of ap- 
pointment to, and the removal from, office. This we shall 
have occasion to consider hereafter. By appropriating mo- 
ney to undertakings commenced by individuals, corporations, 
or States, this evil may be, in some measure, avoided. But 
in the exercise of the veto power, a new source of patronage 
is discovered, not less extensive nor less dangerous than the 
direct appointment of individual agents. Tims, the President, 
setting "his sense of expediency over and against that of both 
houses of Congress, may, and will approve such appropria- 
tions for internal improvement as enure to the direct benefit 
of his own friends, and of them only. 

77. But a power so essential to the national greatness and 
happiness caimot remain unemployed. The objections we 
have stated to its use will be removed. The power of the 
President, to convert the public agents into personal depen- 
dents, will be restrained — or we shall have, again, good men 
and true at the head of public affairs, who will not pervert 
their powers to these illegitimate ends. New modes will be 
devised of exerting thi.s beneficial power, freed from the evils 
which are accidentally connected with it. To this course a 
full treasury, which our greatest ingenuity can scarce keep 
down, will be a powerful and perpetual stimulus. 

78. Of the remaining objects we have designated as the 
prominent ones of Mr. Adams' administration, we may ob- 
serve, here, that, his views of foreign policy, generally, are 
those of the Jackson administration, and that, the Indian re- 
lations will be duly considered hereafter. 



CHAPTER IV. 

OPPOSITION TO THE ADMINISTRATION OF MR. ADAMS. 

79. The views which we have just exhibited of the powers 
of the General Government in relation to the American Sys- 
tem, prevailed in the Northern, Middle, and Western States, 
and had many friends in the South; even in those States, 
which, generally, repudiated them. The sternest adversaries 
of the administration were most active in maintaining them ; 
for, never in a state of peace, since the commencement of the 
Government, did the appropriations so far exceed the esti- 
mates of the treasury, as in 18*28 ; when the Jackson party 
controlled both Houses of Congress. Being distinctly avow- 
ed as the policy of the new administration, it was not possi- 
ble for the disappointed to take a hostile attitude against it; 
and there was great difficulty in finding other ground upon 
which malcontents could stand. 

80. But who were the malcontents 1 All the States north 
of New Jersey, New York included, had voted in their elec- 
toral colleges for Mr. Adams, and approved the principles of 
ills administration. New Jersey was so nearly divided be- 
tween him and General Jackson, that a few hundred 
votes, only, had given her suffrages to tlie latter. Delaware 
had given Mr. Adams one vote and Mr. Crawford two; but 
her second choice was unquestionably Mr, Adams, as was 
that of Virginia- Mr. Adams, then, should have had, upon 
ordinary principles, tiio support of ten States, and portions 
of other States; making together a majority of the people; 
since he pursued, precisely, ihe measures which the candidate 
selected by any one of such ten States would have pursued. 
And such appeared to be the disposition of the Representa- 
tives from these States in Congress during the session of 
1825-6. 

81. But the policy of Mr. Adams, tliough approved by the 
party for the country, could create no party for himself. Offi- 
cial aspirants could not consistently with their hopes sustain 
him. The prospect before them was too oppressive, for mer- 
curial spirits, which longed to rise above tiie odious level of 
private life, and the pains of honest industry and virtuous 
economy. Their horrors could be known only to the idle and 



34 OPPOSITION TO THE ADMINISTRATION OF .MR. ADAMS. 

ambitious; Lhe industrious and thriving- citizen cannot con- 
ceive them. Yet they were sufRcient, not only to destroy 
old party forms, but to congregate the elements of a new 
party, vivified solely by the selfish principle of individual 
ag-grandizement. The original friends of General Jackson, 
were, of course, irreconcilable. The friends of Mr. Craw- 
ford could not endure the prospective exclusion from place 
for eight years: nay, the very men who had borne Mr. 
Adams on their shoulders to the chair of State were impa- 
tient of the condition his patriotic policy imposed upon them. 

82. But on what pretence could the two latter parties 
raise, or fly to, a hostile banner] The policy of Mr. Adams 
upon all important subjects, was their own. I'ortions ,of these 
parties from the South, might object to his construction of 
the Constitution in favour of the American System; but the 
West, the Central, and the Northern, States, had, and still 
cherished, such construction as indispensable to national pros- 
perity. Other portions of the South might find reason to re- 
sist him, in his determination to give preference to the trea- 
ties and laws of the United States, over the ordinances of 
individual States, in relation to Indian interest?; but the 
States which believed the national faith to be sacred, when 
pledged to these tribes, and the more sacred, on account of 
their feebleness, could not condemn the virtuous man, who, 
in the administration of justice, felt, that a superadded obli- 
gation, even higher than that of human authority, compelled 
him to enforce tne laws and fulfil the duties of the nation. 
On what ground then, could all parties hostile to the admin- 
istration meet] Happily it Vi^as discovered, that the employ- 
ment of publishing the laws had been transferred, in some ten 
or fifteen cases, from some persons to others, by the Secreta- 
ry of State. Instantly, the cry of corruption of the press 
was raised. The Secretary was charged with selecting pa- 
pers for political and personal objects; and a resolution was 
oflTered in the House of Representatives requiring him to 
communicate the changes which had been made and tlie rea- 
sons therefor. 

83. A virtuous horror and indignation instantly seized upon 
the opponents of the administration, and an hour a day, for 
some weeks, was spent in pouring out the vials of wrath 
upon the heads of the President and Secretary. Unfortu- 
nately, these estimable sentiments excluded, from the bosoms 
they possessed, the disposition to inquire whether the persons 
who had been dismissed from service had not merited their 



J 



OPPOSITION TO THE ADMlMsTUATlON OF IMLH. ADAMS. 1)5 

disniistful, by neglect, or by availing' llicmselves of the circu- 
lation the publication of tlie laws gave to their journals, to 
calumniate the administration. Either circumstance has 
been received in justification of the ditmissal of a j)rinter; 
but we are free to confess, that we do not consider the latter 
an adequate cause. The printer is employed to publish the 
laws. If he fulfil his contract in relation to his employ- 
ment, his employer has no right to inquire into his conduct 
on other subjects; and if he assume to judge and punish it, 
he is guilty of oppression. But supposing' such oflence to 
have been committed, compared with the enormities of this 
character perpetrated by tlie succeeding administration, it 
was very venial. 

84. The debate upon the proposed call on the Secretary, 
afforded an opportunity to the enemies of the administration, 
from every part of the Union, and from every section of 
party, to vent the bile which had been long forming. Incon- 
siderable as the subject truly was, it gave occasion for much 
heat, and formal invitations to some friends of the Secretary 
of State, to maintain his defence in arms. One invitation 
was cordially accepted; but the challenger, denied the 
weapons he preferred, declined the combat. Another was 
indignantly rejected by the sound and manly sense of the 
challenged. The inquiry was dropped — the House discover- 
ing that it had no jurisdiction of the case. 

85. During the sessions of 1826-7, 1827-8, other subjccta 
were got up tor party action, which occupied, uselessly, much 
of the time and attention of Congress. Propositions for al- 
tering the Constitution v*'ere numerous; some of which, not- 
withstanding the motive, might, if changes were lightly ad- 
missible, be improvements to that instrument. They certain- 
ly were not required by any abuse of constitutional power, 
nor by any injury vvhicii the nation had suffered; but they 
gave further occasion to villify the administration. Inquiry 
was made into the public expenditures for many past years ; 
and the new administration was charged with whatever could 
be darkly coloured in the conduct of its predecessors. 

86. The history of the pretended effort for retrenchment, 
is one of the most disgusting in our annals. A committee 

' on retrenchment, was appointed in the Iloueie of Representa- 
tives, to ferret out abuses; consisting of Messrs. Hamilton, 
.Ingham, Rives, Wicklifie, Cambrelleng, ^majority) ^CYgcSint 
and Everett, (minority.) Che report of the majority pro- 
. posed : 1. The reduction of the number and salaries of the 



36 OPPOSITION TO THE ADMINISTRATION OF MR. ADAMS. 

clerks in the public offices: 2. A change in the character of 
some diplomatic agents, substituting Charges tV Affaires, for 
Ministers, to Colombia and Spain, and tiie curtailment of 
diplomatic expenses: 3. Diminution of the number of news- 
papers taken at the Departments: and 4, and lastly, a reduc- 
tion of the expenses of public printing generally. 

When power came into the hands of the Jackson party, 
was any of these objects effected! Not one. The number 
of clerks was increased and more required. Diplomatic ex- 
penses were augmented, by outfits and in fits, consequent upon 
the recall of some half dozen Ministers, to make room for 
favourites taken from the halls of Congress, and from the 
iijost influential adversaries of the preceding administration ; 
among whom, Mr. Rives, a member of the Retrenchment 
Committee, was one. The Press was prostituted by the 
most profuse expenditure of the public treasure upon it. So 
soon as the election of General Jackson was proclaimed, the 
conductors of the public journals flocked from Kentucky, 
Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and from every 
State in New England, to the seat of government. Thev 
came not in quest of paltry advertising, worth some eighty or 
one hundred dollars the year, altliough this they obtained ; 
but to demand the offices of the country, as the spoils of the 
■victory, which they obtained, also, as the reward of servicea 
rendered, or to be rendered, in their vocation. A government 
press was thus established and maintained in every part of 
the country. In the language of Mr. Chilton, the sincere but 
disappointed mover of reform, niore than one hundred thou- 
sand dollars were spent in arguing the question in its various 
ramifications, but not one dollar was saved to the nation. 
The utmost reduction in the public printing was the curtail- 
ment of the printed documents of Congress of their title 
pages. 

87. In this unholy conflict, a Chief Magistrate of uncom- 
mon simplicity of life and purity of character, was denounced 
as the imitator of oriental pomp, and the profligate corrupter 
of youth. — As able, faithful and patriotic a cabinet as has 
existed since the administration of Washington, abler than 
any which has followed, was condemned as weak, inefficient 
and corrupt. — An administration which, in three years, had 
applied thirty-three millions to the payment of the public 
debt, and had expended ten or twelve more in objects of pub- 
lic utility, was proclaimed profuse and extravagant, — an ad- 
ministration which came into power avowedly on the princi- 



OPPOSITION TO THE ADMINISTRATION OF MR. ADAMb. 37 

pie of seeking out the best talents of the country for offices 
of trust Jind honour, and which, if it erred, erred in neglect- 
ing its friends, was charged with proscribing and persecuting 
its opponents. 

88. Against such an adn^inistration the lust of office con- 
tinued its powerful workings. Conclaves of distinguished 
members of Congress were holden, weekly, duly organized 
with President and Secretary, where the measures of the 
Government, requiring legislative action, were discussed and 
settled with the view of embarrassing the administration. A 

, powerful party was thus, gradually, formed, involving a ma- 
jiority of the Senate. Its existence and character were first 
; developed on the first of March, 1827, by the vote of the 
; Senate on the choice of a printer. The nature of this vote 
, IS not a matter of inference merely. It is explained by the 
I testimony of one who was a party to it, and avowed it to be a 
party vote. The editors of the National Intelligencer had 
been friendly to the election of Mr. Crawford, but had honestly 
pledged themselves to judge the new administration by its 
acts; finding these to be consistent with the universally and 
long established principles of the Republican party, they as 
Jionestly gave the administration their support. Many un- 
successful efforts were made to seduce them from their course; 
and their resistance was punished by the loss of the printing 
of the Senate. Thus, whilst the enemies of the administra- 
tion were in the House of Representatives rebuking the Sec- 
retary of State, for tampering with the press, they were, in 
the Senate, prostituting their official patronage to the repro- 
bated object. 

89. The design of this vote is fully developed. He who 
liad tlje greatest power in preparing it, distinctly avowed the 
motive ; and as that forms an important feature in the politi- 
cal character of the individual, we advert to it with much in- 
terest. 

"He had long been of opinion," he said, "that the public 
interest might be promoted, the condition of the Press, as 
well here, as throughout the country improved, and respect 
for the Senate, and economy in the ptiblication of the proceed- 
ings of the Senate, better secured, by a judicious revision of the 
laws relatin^to the public printing at large. At a more con- 
venient season he hoped the subject would be revised; and 
he promised himself the best results from such revision, as 
the nature of the subject was susceptible of." 

We have said, that, this is a distinct avowal of the senti- 
4 



38 OPPOSITION TO THE ADRIINISTRATION OF 5IR. ADAMS. 

ments of the speaker; but it is to be observed, that the speaker 
was Mr. Van Buren, distinguished by his skill in mystifi- 
cation, and his art of giving to his sentences an hermaphro- 
dite character. We draw from the declaration the inference, 
which, considering Mr. Van Buren as a candidate for the 
highest office of the country, is as important as it is alarming; 
showing how unlimited are his ideas of power pertaining to 
the General Government — the inference that Mr. Van Buren 
deems that Congress, by a. judicious revision, (a phrase ad- 
mirably appropriate, from its obscurity and indefiniteness, to 
the assumption of forbidden powers) may improve, that is di- 
rect and. control, the press throughout the United States. 
This text is fully explained by the practical commentary 
Vv-hich was immediately given to it, by the dismissal of Gales 
and Seatun, supporters of the administration, from the em- 
ployment of the Senate, and by the distribution of the public 
printing, and all other official favours, by the administration 
of General Jackson, of which Mr. Van Buren is the vital 
spirit, as he was the creator. 

In assigning to Mr. Van Buren this high and responsi- 
ble position, we are sustained by his conduct at this period, 
as well as by the fatal influence he has had upon the mea- 
sures of the country during the last six years, which we trust 
fully to develope in these pages. In the election of 1824, the 
State of New York gave Mr. Adams 26 votes ; Mr. Crawford 
5; Mr. Clay 4; and General Jackson 1! We may, there- 
fore, confidently believe, that, that State deemed the General 
incompetent to the station to which he aspired. With the 
principles of Mr. Adams, it was certainly content, and the 
measures of his administration were in perfect harmony with 
those principles. But to the election of General Jackson, the 
vote of that State seemed indispensable, and Mr. Van Buren 
charged himself with (what shall we term if!) the labour, the 
pleasure, of her seduction. The charge was executed with 
as much adroitness as success. But his efforts were animated 
by the most exhilarating hope, that he might, possibly, ob- 
tain for himself the favours he had engaged to solicit for 
another. His senatorial term ended, in March 1827; he as- 
pired to a re-election; but he, also, aspired to the Presidency 
of the United States. 

90. In raising his eyes, at this period, with hope, to the 
first magistracy of the country, Mr, Van Buren has been 
charged with gross presumption. He had rendered, it was 
said, no service to the country that could claim any, much less 



OPPOSITION TO THE ADMINISTRATION OF MR. ADAMS. 39 

SO higli, a reward ; he had filled but one distinguished station in 
the General Governnjent, and liad not tiie merit which long en- 

i'oyment of office is, strangely, supposed to give. But, Mr. Van 
Juren had seen, capacity for civil service, much less than he 
could boast, greeted by the hunters of office, even though the 
candidate was encumbered with many and grievous offences 
against the laws and Constitution of his country; and having 
well studied his position, and his associates, he believed it prac- 
ticable, whilst the lion and the tiger were contending for the 
quarry, iox like, to steal in and seize it for himself. To this 
purpose, for a season, the policy of non-committal was essen- 
tial. It was enough to have it known by his contemplated 
dupes, that he was opposed to the administration, and dis- 
posed, under certain undefined contingencies, to support the 
pretensions of General Jackson, 

91. With this view, he carefully avoided the sessions of 
the organized cabal of which we have spoken, and caused 
cautionary monitions against premature committal, for any 
candidate, to be circulated throughout his State. Uncommit- 
ted himself, he was anybody's, and, consequently, everybody's 
man, and was re-elected to the Senate by a very unanimous 
vote. The inference was drawn, that the vote of New York 
in the next Presidential election was placed in his hands. 
New importance was thence given to his position at Wash- 
ington, and he was emboldened, more openly, but with scarce 
more efficiency, to mingle in the intrigues against the admin- 
istration, and to appear at the secret cabal, at which the great 
combination was effected. 

92. Of the existence of this combination, the circumstan- 
tial proof is abundant, but we have proof direct. Its forma- 
tion was not only avowed, but it was, ostentatiously, proclaimed. 
Mr. Floyd, in a formal speech, duly and artistly prepared, ac- 
cording to the most approved rules of party misrepresenta- 
tion, at a dinner in Richmond, in February 1827, declared 
that " combinations have been formed, and are forming, which 
will wrest the power from those hands so unworthy to hold 
it." A letter of the same period says, " To the friends of 
Jackson and Crawford, those of John C. Calhoun are added; 
and the union forms such a force of numbers, talents, and in- 
fluence, that it seems impossible to be effectually met by Mr. 
Adams and Mr. Clay, and their friends, aided by their united 
experience, ability and patronage, and official advantages, 
great as they are. Men are so very sincere in their dis- 
likes, that the most opposite natures will coalesce to diminish 



40 OPPOSITION TO THE ADMINISTRATION OF MR. ADAMS. 

the power of an object of a higher common aversion, and will 
surrender the strongest personal competition to unite for mu- 
tual safety." 

93. The combination and its object being thus clearly es- 
tablished, let us inquire, for a moment, into the character of ' 
its component parts, with the view of ascertaining the true 
motive of its formation, of explaining the means by v/hich 
parts so heterogeneous could be cemented. 

The members of the combination in the Senate registered 
their names in the vote on the appointment of printers. We 
find on the list, Woodbury, of Maine, now Secretary of the 
Treasury; Van Buren, of New York, Vice President; Mc- 
Lane and Ridgely, of Delaware; the former late Minister to 
London, late Secretary of the Treasury, and late Secretary 
of State; Barnard, of Pennsylvania; Tazewell and Tyler of 
Virginia; Macon and Branch, of North Carolina: the latter 
late Secretary of the Navy ; Hayne and Smith, of South Car- 
olina ; Berrien and Cobb, of Georgia ; the former late Attor- 
ney General of the United States; Kane, of Illinois ; Benton, 
of Missouri; Eaton and White, of Tennessee; the former late 
Secretary of War, and now Governor of Florida ; JMcKinley 
and King, of Alabama; Williams and Ellis, of Mississippi; 
Smith, of Maryland; Dickerson, of New Jersey, now Secre- 
tary of the Navy ; and Chandler, of Maine. 

Now let us ask, v/hat common interest could thus bind to- 
gether the North, the South, the East, and the West] Maine, 
New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, 
Delaware, Maryland, Illinois, Tennessee, and Mississippi, 
were certainly in favour of the measures of the administra- 
tion, for protecting manufactures and the system of internal 
improvements. Upon these questions Virginia had been, then 
was, and now is, divided. North Carolina was, at least, 
friendly to internal improvements: South Carolina, Georgia, 
and Alabama, were, perhaps, the only States, whose repre- 
sentatives in Senate were engaged in this cabal, which had, 
decidedly, an interest adverse to the policy of the adminis- 
tration. Nay, South Carolina, and perhaps each of the others, 
too, were then, to a great extent, friendly to internal im- 
provements. Where, then, was the common principle of 
union among these gentlemen) For the purpose of an an- 
sv/er, our catalogue of names is almost a catalogue raisonne; 
descriptive, certainly, of the views of many of the persons en- 
rolled upon it. Thus we have twenty-three names, eight of 
whom have held hip-h offices under General Jackson, and, of the 



OPPOSITION TO THE ADMINISTRATION OF MR. ADAMS. 41 

remainder, almost all have been desirous to obtain them. Co- 
operation in measures ofa national character, clearly formed no 
part of the cement of this human porphyry. It was bound to- 
gether by self-interest alone, and which, alone, could have put 
into the heart of the Senator from Kentucky, (Mr. Johnson) the 
sentiment to which he gave utterance, that the administra- 
tion should " be put down, though it were as pure as the 
angels which stand at the right hand of God." 

94. So absolute and powerful was this self-interest, that 
gentlemen from the South were willing to put aside, in the 
choice of a presidential candidate, all consideration of the 
tariff. Thus the Columbian Telescope of South Carolina, at 
this period, declared that " the whole tariff subject has but 
little to do with the selection of a presidential candidate, nor 
has the particular opinion of such a candidate much to do 
with that election." This gracious offering, of the South, 
on the altar of mutual interests, the northern portion of the 
coalition, as represented by Mr. Van Buren, could not fail to 
reciprocate. Mr. Van Buren had been a zealous supporter 
of high tariffs for the protection of domestic industry, main- 
taining those of 1824 and 1826, and an ultra advocate of the 
constitutional powers of the General Government to make 
1 roads and canals; voting not only for the Cumberland road, in 
; 1822, but for the establishment of toll gates thereon. But, 
who would ask a wise man not to change his opinions. 
This would reduce him to a vegetable, to flourish and to fade 
in the soil in which he germinated. It is an adage, that, 
"the voyager changes his skies, not his opinions:" but 
Mr. Van Buren met this by another adage, more to his pur- 
pose — " we change with the times." When he and Mr. 
Cambrelling made their progress through the South, in the 
spring of 1827, they were hailed, the one as "the zealous 
friend of State sovereignty;" the other as "the enlight- 
ened advocate of liberal principles of commerce." Now, in 
the South, these phrases mean, the zealous enemy of inter- 
nal improvements, and the fierce opponent of a protective 
tariff. In the spirit of non-committal^ Mr. Van Buren dex- 
terously parried this invidious praise, given in the form of a 
toast, at Charleston. But he was caught at Raleigh, where in 
a reply to a written invitation to an entertainment by the 
citizens, he was tempted, by an opportunity of railing at the ad- 
ministration, to write, " All dispassionate observers will ad- 
Tmit that the measures (of the administration) to which you al- 
lude, justify the alarm you express. The spirit of encroach- 
4* 



42 OPPOSITION TO THE ADMINISTRATION OF MR. ADAMS. 

ment has assumed a new and far more seductive aspect, and 
can only be resisted by the exercise of uncommon virtues." 
Now the very measures which the Raleigh Committee con- 
demned, namely, acts of legislation upon constructive rights, 
had been frequently, earnestly and honestly advocated by both 
gentlemen. But the offering was required, and was made. 
That it was propitious, is apparent from the same Columbian 
Tellescope, proclaiming, " Mr. Van Buren is not unlikely to 
succeed General Jackson, if he keeps steadily to his present 
plan." 

95. Mr. Van Buren certainly went to the sunny climes 
of the South to buy golden opinions, but he was disap- 
pointed in his efforts to bargain. He probably anticipated 
support of his immediate pretensions to the presidency. But 
Virginia frowned upon his suit, and as he is no Caesar, he 
made up his mind to submit to be second, where he could not 
be first. His designs of immediate elevation to the presidential 
chair were abandoned; and he prepared himself to become 
the keeper of the conscience, and the political guide of the 
next President — to enjoy the power, if he could npt claim 
the title, of the office. 

96. Of the motives of the coalition, no illustration, more 
ample or apposite can be adduced, than the conduct of Mr. 
John Randolph. We know it is not permitted to speak evil 
of the dead. But this maxim, if applied to public men, would 
deprive us of the only benefit often deducible from their 
lives. The knowledge of evil, as of good, is useful-; of the 
one, that it may be avoided, of the other that it may be pur- 
sued. On this maxim, history would lose all its value; it 
^vould be any thing but philosophy teaching by example. 
The sounder precept is, of the dead speak nothing but truth ; 
and this we shall obey. In his speech on the motion for re- 
trenchment, in February 1828, Mr. Randolph used the fol- 
lowing very emphatic language. 

"I do not pretend, that my own motives do not partake of 
their full share of the infirmity of our common nature — but 
of those infirmities, neither avarice nor amhition form one 
iota in the composition of ray present motives. Sir, what 
can the country do for roe? Poor as 1 am, — for 1 am much 
poorer than I have been — impoverished by unwise legisla- 
tion, I still have nearly as much as I know how to use — more, 
certainly, than I have, at all times, made a good use of. — And 
as for power, what charms can it have for one like me] Sir, 
if power had been my object, I must have been less sagacious 



OPPOSITION TO THE ADMINISTRATION OF MR. ADAMS. 43 

than my worst enemies have represented me to be, (unless, 
indeed,' those wlio would have kindly shut me up in Bedlam) 
if 1 had not obtained it. 1 may appeal to all my friends to 
say, whether there have not been times, when 1 stood in such 
fiivour in the closet, that there must have been something very 
extravagant and unreasonable in my wishes if they might 
not all have been gratified. Was it office'? What, sir, to 
drudge in your laboratories, in the departments, or be at the 
tail of the corps diplomatique in Europe! Alas, sir, in my 
condition, a cup of cold water would be more acceptable. * 
* * * * iSir, my '■'•church-yard cough'" gives me the 
solemit warning, that whatever part I shall take in the 
chase, I may fail of being in at the death. I should think 
myself the basest and meanest of men, — 1 care not what the 
opinion of the v)orld might be — / should know myself to be 
a scoundrel, and should not care who kneiv it, if I could per- 
mit any motive connected with the division of the spoil to 
mingle in this matter, with my poor and best exertions, for 
the welfare of my country."' 

Apply the rule for determining character which this pas- 
sage affords, and what name ^hall we give to the speaker 
and his coadjutors 1 Governor Marcy was more honest, when 
in receiving his portion, in the division of the spoil, he avowed 
sUch to have been his object. 

Now, it is in the recollection of all men, that Mr. Ran- 
dolph too, did not disdain to partake of the spoil. That he 
was not only in at the death, but received a haunch of the 
quarry. That in May, 1830, he accepted the tail end of the 
corps diplomatic in Europe, of that very mission, which is 
growing offensive to every moial sense, from being the 
destined reward of the most brawUng and thorough drilled, 
political hacks — and that, whilst he thus indulged a morbid 
ambition, he gratified the other passion which he so vaunt- 
ingly denounced, — his avarice, — receiving from his country a 
large sum of money ibr services which he never rendered. 
He°has left a name, which, though it never paled the world, 
serves to point a moral,~and all politicians who gratuitously 
profess patriotic disinterestedness, when seeking to gratify, 
by office, their ambition and their avarice, may, hereafter, be 
called — Randolphs. 

97. In the selection of a candidate for the Presidency, a 
party thus constituted could have no views save his aptitude 
for their purposes. Qualifications for the office were objec- 
tionable, not desirable, inasmuch as they would render him 



44 OPPOSITION TO THE ADMINISTRATION OF MR. ADAMS. 

independent of their power, the master, not the servant, of 
their wishes. Such a candidate the party beheld in General 
Jackson. The soundness of judgment displayed in the selec- 
tion, will be conspicuous from a view of the life and charac- 
ter of the man. 



CHAPTER V. 

QUALIFICATIONS OP GENERAL JACKSON FOR CIVIL EM- 

PL0Y3IENT. 

98. It has been observed to us, by former friends of Gen- 
eral Jackson, that his conduct should be reviewed with the 
greatest forbearance : tirst, because his advisers alone should 
be responsible; and next, because a free exposition of the 
character and motives of the chief will shock and offend 
those who are still attached to him. 

99. We deem both reasons unsound. They degrade the 
intellect of the General and his friends. He may not have, 
we know, he has not, oricrinated many measures which he has 
sanctioned; but he is sufficiently competent to judge of their 
nature, to be denied the plea of non compos mentis, thus 
made for him. Nor, would such defence propitiate his friends, 
who would find greater cause for ofience iu the allegation of 
phrenzy or fatuity, than in the charge of ambition. 

We shall, therefore, speak of General Jackson as he is — 
as the chief of the republic, — the responsible possessor of the 
executive power; and shall hold him to that accountability 
from which ho has himself never shrunk. By the Constitu- 
tion he has not the privilege of an English monarch. He 
is supposed to be capable of wrong; and his advisers must 
also submit to the tribunals of the law and of public opinion. 

100. Extraordinary, even supernatural ability and virtue, 
have been ascribed to General Jackson, which, if credited, 
give a bias to our judgment of his measures, and prevent 
us from beholding them in their true character. In mon- 
archies we are accustomed to exaggerated praise. Every 
prince is, during life, "the wisest and the best of Kings." 
But in the language of Courts, this is idiomatic, meaning no 
more than conventional phrases of politeness, in an epistle, 
which may contain the most imperative commands, signed by 
an obedient, humble servant, or close with the wish that we 
may live a thousand years, from one who prays our instant 
death. But it sounds strangely, in republican ears, to have 
godlike powers attributed to men, whose every act, scents, 
offensively, of mortality. The apotheosis of the living hero or 
tyrant, was made only in tlie corrupt ages of Grecian and 



46 QUALIFICATIONS OF GENERAL JACKSON. 

Roman power. A iate biographer of the General,* whose 
turpitude is such that his praise is defamation, describes him 
as " the bravest and greatest man now living, in this world, 
or that has ever lived in this world:" — "As the greatest sol- 
dier, and greatest statesman, whose name has ever yet ap- 
peared upon the records of valour and wisdom." This is but 
the echo of the fulsome flatteries, uttered upon the American 
shores, customary in the Presidential circles, and habitual to 
the administration presses; of which the following is a sam- 
ple not of the highest flavour; yet we fear the reader will 
think, that we are sporting with his credulity when we 
cite it. We refer him, however, to the New York Times, 
printed on or about the 18th October, 1834, for the letter 
of its Washington correspondent, from which the extract is 
made. 

101. "There is a mysterious light which directs his intel- 
lect, which baffles all speculation upon philosophy of mind 
and the channels through which conclusions are reached 
without the aid of that mental operation which can alone 
shed light, upon the pathway of research. He arrives at 
conclusions with a rapidity which proves that his process is 
not through the tardy avenues of syllogism, nor over the 
beaten track of analysis, or the hackneyed walk of logical in- 
duction. For, whilst other minds, vigorous and cultivated, 
are pursuing these routes, he leaves them in the distance, 
and reaches his object in much less time, and with not less 
accuracy. His mind seems to be clogged by no forms, but 
goes with the lightning's flash and illuminates its own path- 
way." 

This, we have no doubt, is fine writing, since it has the 
mysticism which commonly pertains to it. But does the 
reader apprehend the sense? It may mean, that the Presi- 
dent is immediately inspired from heaven; or that, like So- 
crates, he is attended by an invisible demon, who does for 
him all the drudgery of mental labour, and transfers to 
him, the ready made conclusions, which he so promptly 
and easily (we would we could say, rationally) maintains. If 
the latter be the sense of the passage, then, although, we may 
not be able wholly to penetrate the mystery, we set up a 
plausible hypothesis; connecting the ^^ mystery^* with magic, 
the work of the New York Magician, we conclude, that the 
writer of this strange paragraph meant to say, that the Pree« 
ident receives his opinions from Mr. Van Buren. 

*Wm. Cobbett. 



QUALIFICATIONS OF GENERAL JACKSON. 47 

102. Exag-gcrated praise, with the intelligent, excites un- 
belief and provokes inquiry ; and of itself might stimulate 
investigation into the merits of the General, did not more im- 
portant considerations demand it. The age of miracles is 
past, though happily tor charlatans, medical, moral and politi- 
cal, the era of credulity has no limit. No man, now, be- 
comes learned and wise save through instruction and expe- 
rience. But it is possible, othervvise, to obtain literary hon- 
ours, tor the Muses are sometimes capricious, or mercenary, 
and to possess a reputation lor wisdom, which neither study 
nor practice has matured. Such has been the fortune of 
General Jackson, and that, it is the work of fortune becomes 
apparent from a review of his life. 

103. Andrew Jackson was born of Irish parents, who, a 
short time before his birth, had emigrated to a sparsely peo- 
pled district of South Carolina; where, had they possessed 
the pecuniary means to purchase scholastic instruction tor 
their children, there were no competent teachers. Some in- 
considerable efforts, we are told, were made to qualify An- 
drew for the Church, which were terminated by the war, in 
1777, when he had attained the age of ten years. The suc- 
ceeding eight years, the most valuable for preparation for 
latter life, were probably spent in idleness. In 17S1, having 
joined, for a few days, a small })arty of militia, he was cap- 
tured by the enemy, and having refused to perform some me- 
nial service exacted by an officer, was, as it is said, severely 
beaten and wounded. This has proved a most fortunate event, 
yielding a large portion of that glory which constitutes 
him the hero of two wars. With no other preparation, he 
commenced the study of the law in 1784; and slight knowl- 
edge being requisite in Courts whose judges did not boast 
deep learning, he was admitted to practice within two years, 
tiiereafter. 

104. In 1789, he tried his fortune in Nashville, a new set- 
tlement of Tennessee, where an extraordinary circumstance 
brought him into immediate notice. As is commonly the case 
in new countries, society was loosely formed, and the ordinary 
obligations of justice were tardily enforced. The planters, 
adventurers from various sections, were indebted to the mer- 
chants, and having secured the services of the only attorney 
of the place, mocked all efforts to compel payment. The ar- 
rival of Jackson, therefore, was gratifying to the creditors; 
and we are told that he issued seventy writs on the following 
day. Whilst thus introduced into a profitable county prac- 



48 QUALIFICATIONS OF GENERAL JACKS>OX. 

tice, he became involved in personal contests with the debtors. 
His courag-e, in these cases^and in occasional rencontres with 
the Indians, rendered him notorious and popular among men 
abler to appreciate physical than moral qualities. As a con- 
sequence, he became, in 1796, a representative in the Slate 
Convention, and in Congress; in 1797, a Senator of the 
United States; and in 1798, a Major General of Militia. 

105. For the civil stations, whose honours he coveted, he 
proved incompetent; and after a short effort, confessing his 
incapacity, he renounced them.. If we consider the temper- 
ament of the man, sensitive, tierce and aspiring, we may con- 
ceive the mortifications he endured in assemblies where the 
illiterate attorney was eclipsed by his better instructed fel- 
lows. Soon after resigning his seat in the Senate, he ac- 
cepted one on tlio bencii of the Supreme Court of the State, 
which, for like reasons, he resigned. The military ap- 
pointment, congenial to his taste, he retained until, in 1814, 
he entered the regular service of the United States. 

103, Academic instruction does not always produce genius. 
But genius avails itself of every opportunity for instruction 
in its chosen pursuits or in such as pertain to its nature 
That the genius of Mr. Jackson was not a civil one is appa- 
rent from its inability to qualify itself for civil employment; 
that it was militant may be inferred, as well from events of 
his after life, as from some private wars of his youth and 
manhood, whicli we do no<" propose to narrate. 

107. The war of 1812 opened an honorable field to his 
martial propensities. Under the Acts of Congress authoris- 
ing the acceptance of volunteers, he, v/ith 2500 men of his 
division, who had entered the service, was ordered to descend 
the Mississippi for the defence of the lower country. But he 
had scarce reached Natchez, in January 1813, wiien he was 
directed by the War Department to dismiss his troops, and to 
deliver the public property in his charge to General Wilkin- ^ 
son. The egotism of his character now displayed itself 
The troops he commanded were his troops, not the troops of 
the United States — brought out by his influence not by the 
call of their country — under his exclusive command, not that 
of the constituted authorities, whose orders he refused to obey, j 
despite the recommendation of a council of his officers, and * 
the remonstrance of General Wilkinson. By this dangerous 
example of insubordination he sought to create a partisan 
feeling, — to substitute himself, instead of their country in 
the affections of his troops, and to make them dependent 



QUALIFICATIONS OF GENERAL JACKSON. 49 

upon him for protection anrainst the Govornnient whicli, he 
said, oppressively, disbanded them at a distance from tlieir 
homes, Tiiis resolution was not accidental, but ilowed I'rom 
that insatiable self-love which has characterized every hero, 
who lias trodden down the liberties of his country. The 
troops were marched back to Tennessee and there discharged. 
His flatterers ascribe hig-Ji merit to this unsoldierly conduct. 
But such merit he would have rewarded, in a subordinate, 
by a court martial and ig-nominious death. The inexperience 
and tlie weakness of the government at the commencement 
of a war for which it was illy prepared, form the only apology 
for its omission to punish this unpardonable offence. 

108. The Creek war, produced by the arts of Tecum- 
seh and his prophets, drew upon an ignorant and supersti- 
tious race the vengeance of the United States. The massa- 
cre at Fort Mimms roused the inhabitants of Georgia and 
Tennessee, and called forth General Jackson and his division, 
first into the service of the Stale and subsequently of the 
Union. This is a species of warfare in which few laurels 
are to be gathered. Indian hostility, dreadful in the mid- 
night massacre of peaceful agriculturalists, has, comparative- 
ly, little horror in the field, There, the Indian is as unable to 
withstand the white man, as to turn the tide of population, 
which is sweeping him from the land of his fathers. In every 
pitched battle, from the victories of Wayne, the red men have 
been defeated; and tiieir desperate courage and obstinacy 
have frequently turned the conflict into massacre. In the 
present war they had not the remotest chance of success; 
andgross infatuation, alone, induced them without foreign aid 
to commence it. The battles of Talledaga, Tallushatchee, 
Emuckfa, and Tohopeka, iii which the white, was double the 
Indian, force, were slaughters as lamentable as inevitable. 

109. The occasion called ^ot little ability, but what it re- 
quired the General possessed. In a campaign of about four 
months, he seems to have sustained privations with a fortitude 
which excelled that of some of his troops, and was not 
surpassed by any of his officers. He bore, without repining, 
occasional scarcity of f(X)d, and a couch less soft than he 
had left at home. But in the government of the army he 
was less happy. Mutiny allcr mutiny arose, and twice, 
at least, his troops were divided, and in deadly array against 
each other. Though anxious to appropriate to himself the 
affections of his army, the General was sadly deficient in 
the arts of conciliation. Force was the onlv mean he knew 



5 



50 QUALIFICATIONS OF GENERAL JACKSON. 

to compose dissention, and the death of one militia man, by] 
the sentence of a court martial, approved by him, savours 
more of rigour than of mercy. 

110. But who would not, by greater sacrifices tlian thei 
General made, in this campaign, if such were possible, havei 
purchased praise like this — the rich and meet reward of his 
labours — the balm for all wounds of the spirit — wounds of the 
flesh we believe he never received, except as the hero of the 
revolutionary war. "One General retired with his brigade; 
opposition after opposition, he met with from different ofKcers,' 
yet he proceeded on to assault the blood thirsty enemy, in 
spite of every impediment, though he had to imprison officers, 
to hang a militia soldier, and to do things which it appear ^ 
almost to require credulity unbounded to believe to be true. 
Finally, however, he succeeded; he subdued the savage 
tribes; he reduced them to sue for pardon and for peace; ho 
concluded a treaty with them; took them out of tlie hands of 
the more crafty and more powerful enemy of America, and 
cleared the way for a battle, single handed, with the Britisli, 
on tlie gulph of Mexico; and finally at New Orleans."* 

111. The muse of history, when writing this page of our 
country's annals, will probably treat it thus: The Creek In- 
dians, miserably ignorant and superstitious, excited by British 
promises of assistance, and the arts of an ambitious chief and 
his prophets, rashly made war upon the dibtrictsof the United 
States adjacent to their territory, with their accustomed bar- 
barity. An overwhelming force from the States of Tennes- 
see and Georgia was immediately brought into the field. A 
portion of the Tennessee troops, was under the command of 
Andrew Jaclcson, a militia Major General, who had never 
seen service, but who, from his promptness in private quarrel, 
was supposed to possess much personal courage, and great 
genius for war. With a force greatly exceeding two thou- 
sand men, this officer entered the enemy's country, and after 
much delay, and four lamentable massacres, supported by the 
Georgian troops, compelled the naked and famished savages 
to sue for peace. Had the General, to wliom Jthis service 
was intrusted, more experience or more foresighf, he would, 
in a country abounding in provisions, and the means of trans- 
portation, have secured a seasonable and competent sup- 
ply for his army, and thereby have, more speedily, ter- 
minated the campaign. The neglect of this essential duty,,' 



Cobbett's Life of Jackson. 






QUALIFICATIONS OF GENERAL JACKSON. 51 

nnd, it is said, the hau^lity and passionate deportment of the 
commander, offended his officer^% and disgusted the troops, 
to such a degree as greatly to injure the service. The cam- 
paign, though successful, was unnecessarily prolonged, and 
inordinately expensive." 

112. The first American essays in arms, during the late 
war, were so unfortunate, generally, that, every engagement, 
which did not to terminate in defeat, was deemed a victory; 
and success, even against an Indian adversary, entitled the 
commander to promotion. The commission of Brigadier, in 
the regular army, was sent to General Jackson, in May, 1814, 
upon the resignation of General Hampton; and the day after 
lie received this, he also received the appointment of Major 
General of the seventh military district, vacated by the resig- 
nation of General Harrison. 

113. Rumours at this time prevailed, of an intention, on 
the part of the British, to make a descent upon the southern 
coasts of the United States, and, New Orleans, it was appre- 
liended, would be the principal point of attack. In further- 
ance of these views, it was supposed. Col. Nichols had ar- 
rived, with a small British squadron, at Pensacola, where he 
was not only suffered to land, by the Spanish commandant, 
but was permitted, from this spot, to assail fort Bowyer, with- 
in the American boundary, and to insult the country WMth 
gasconading proclamations. The Spanish commandant also 
gave refuge to the fugitive Creeks. General Jackson, who 
had diawn his forces, amounting to about three thousand men, 
in this direction, with a view to the protection of the coast, 
resolved to reduce this city, and expel the precursor of the 
British army, from this dangerous vicinity. We are not of 
tiiose who would condemn this act, had ii been done without 
the knowledge of, or without disobedience to, his Govern- 
ment. We stay not to inquire, whether the attack was war- 
ranted by the law of nations. It is sufficient, that it was a 
case in which a high-minded man might, in the absence of 
orders, fairly risk himself But he had comnmnicated his de- 
sign to the Government, and had been forbidden to execute 
it. The assault of the town was, therefore, a breach of duty, 
a disobedience of orders, for which he merited, at least, re- 
prehension. It was a new trait of that self-sufficiency which 
had developed itself at Natches. It matters not, that the 
Government had devolved the attempt upon his discretion; 
the letter containing its views, though dated months before 
the fact, did not reach him for months afterwards. Pensacola 



52 QUALIFICATIONS OF GENERAL JACKSON. 

was taken, without the death of a single man; and two days 
subsequently, was re-delivered to the Spanish commandant, 
the British and Creeks having been expelled. 

114. If the victory at New Orleans gained for the com- 
manding General a high military character, his conduct at 
that post did not less firmly establish the evil dispositions 
which render it dangerous to civil institutions. We are not 
disposed to question the ability with which that campaign was 
directed — nor to inquire, how much of the merit is attributa- 
ble to tlie advice, and other zealous services, of distinguished 
citizens and representatives of the city^ — nor to investigate 
the gross errors and presumption of the enemy which cast 
him, in masses of sixty and seventy deep, upon an impregna- 
ble intrenchment, defended by a competent force, supplied 
with cannon and other arms, not a shot from which, by the 
nature of the ground and the position of the invaders, could 
be delivered without effect. But we may be allowed- to say, 
that this victory was one of the most providential upon record. 
The immediate cause of the defeat of the enemy is ascribable 
to that overweening confidence in themselves, and contempt 
of the foe, which, half a century before, had delivered another 
British General, with a gallant and distinguished army, to car- 
nage, in America. The confidence and temerity of Packen- 
ham, were not less weak and criminal, than those of Brad- 
dock. It is tritely, but truly, remarked, that great effects 
proceed, frequently, from apparently feeble causes. The 
faithful report to the British officers, made by an American 
deserter, of the small numbers, and undisciplined state, of the 
American forces, induced the rash, the almost demented, re- 
solution, to assail the American lines. The British General 
believed that his veteran troops trebled his militia opponents; 
and he believed rightly ; but he believed, also, that the latter 
would not defend themselves, even behind an almost impassa- 
ble rampart. This was the unwarrantable presumption for 
which, he so severely suffered. The error of the attempt 
was flagrant; and idiocy, alone, could have failed to profit 
by it. General Jackson did profit by it, effectually; though 
General Coff"ee claims a full share of the honours of the vic- 
tory. 

115. Still, be it remembered, that, the success of the Ameri- 
can army, must not protect its commander from condemna- 
tion, for crimes against the State, nor blind the people to the 
danger of entrusting power to one prone to increase and abuse 
it. Had that commander been all that he claimed to be, had, 



QUALIFICATIONS OF GENERAL JACKSON. 53 

indeed, his arm, alone, as he asserts, protected from outrage, 
the city, he could not rightly have founded upon the feat, tlie 
prostration of the civil powers. We deny not, that in war, 
the law must, at times, necessarily, be silent. But, "the ne- 
cessity," in tlie language supplied to General Jackson him- 
self, " must be apparent, from the circumstances of the case, 
or it forms no justification." We will not say, that, upon the 
approach of the enemy, the first moment of anxiety and alarm 
might not have extenuated, a temporary suspension of civil 
authority: But we will say, that, to this hour, no satisfactory 
'evidence has been adduced of treasonable intentions, or of in- 
subordination, which justified the proclamation of martial 
law. It is said, that the enemy received information from 
agents, in the city of New Orleans, of every thing necessary 
to promote his interest; but, suppose it true, it is certain, 
that this information was communicated, freely, after the pro- 
clamation, and that, therefore, the proclamation was, in its 
most important ostensible objecl, the prevention of inter- 
course with the enemy, useless. But it was not useless in 
its real object, that object which the General has, on every 
occasion, sought, the investiture in himself of all power, mili- 
tary and civil. Admitting the unlawfulness of his conduct, 
upon this occasion, he extenuates it, by the plea, most abhor- 
rent, to public and private morals, that the end justifies the 
means. "If," said he, "a successful defence could be made, 
I felt assured that my country, in the objects attained, would 
lose sight of, and forget the means that had been employed." 
Vile as is the plea of political necessity, this is still more 
odious. It is the plea ofa bold, bad man, between whom and 
the gratification of his will, there is no barrier. The defence 
of necessity is, not that evil means may produce a good end, 
but, that there are no other means to attain such end. 

116. To the safety of New Orleans, the proclamation has 
never been proven indispensable. There was not only no 
party devoted to the enemy, but, there v/as satisfactory evi- 
dence of an enthusiastic devotion to the cause of the country, 
in the Legislature, and in every class of the citizens. Yet, 
under pretence of loose and unfounded apprehension, the 
Legislators were expelled from their hall, their functions sus- 
pended, and they, with the whole people, subjected to 
the wantonness of military law. This unlawful and illimi- 
table authority, was not only assumed, immediately, upon en- 
try of the General into the city; but was exercised, in the 
most rigorous manner — the libertv of the press was trampled 
5* 



54 QUALIFICATIONS OF GENERAL JACKSON. 

upon — a member of the Legislature, a citizen of the State 
and of the United States, was arrested and cast into prison, 
and the Judge, who issued a habeas corpus to inquire into the 
cause, was rudely seized and banished. Not only was this 
odious power, hastily, assumed, but it was long retained and 
reluctantly abandoned. The flagrant enormities we have re- 
cited, were committed, not only after the enemy had aban- 
doned the country, but after information had been received, 
and credited too by the General, of the restoration of peace 
— continued long, long after every honest pretence of its 
necessity had ceased. 

117. But we cannot dismiss this portion of our subject, 
without exposing the means which arbitrary power will use 
for its gratification ; and the readiness of its present possessor 
to resort to the grossest perversion of the law to sustain him- 
self. Mr. Louaillier, a member of the Legislature, distin- 
guished for his patriotism, had published some remarks, in a 
newspaper, which questioned the propriety of the continu- 
ance of the stern measures of the General, after the enemy 
had withdrawn and peace was made. "He was guilty of no 
offence cognizable by the civil courts."* But the second sec- 
tion of the articles of war had a power of expansion which, 
could be made to cover, with equal propriety, the deliber- 
ations of the Hartford Convention and the lucubrations of a 
Louisianian Legislator. 

We give the section, and again ask the reader not to sup- 
pose that we are abusing his credulity. We assure him, that 
the follovvino- is a literal extract, from the Life of General 
Jackson, written at his own dictation, by his friend and de- 
pendent, Major Eaton. 

"Louaillier was detained under guard and brought before 
a court martial, of which General Gaines was President, 
charged under the second section of the rules and articles of 
war, as one '•'■owing allegiance to the United States of Amer- 
ica, and found lurking as a spy about the encampment :" for 
the reason, however, that the inflammatory and mutinous 
publication which had occasioned his arrest, could not be 
shown to have been conveyed to the enemy, he was acquitted 
— the quo animo being, from this circumstance, in the proof, 
not sufficiently apparent. That none might be uninformed 
of the law, the following official notice had been circulated 
through the public journals." 

* Eaton'g Life of Jackson. 



QUALIFICATIONS OF GENERAL JACKSON. 55 

Here follows the military order, containing the second 
section, in these words: 

" And bo it further enacted, tliat in time of war, all per- 
sons not citizens of, or owing allegiance to the United States 
of America, who shall be found lurking as spies in or about 
tlie fortifications or encampments of the armies of the United 
States, or any of them, shall suffer death, according to the 
law and usage of nations, by sentence of a general Court 
Martial." 

Now, having read the section, does the reader believe that 
the accused was acquitted, because proof that, an address 
published in a newspaper, had not been communicated to the 
enemy ? Does he not see, that, if the act charged amounted 
to the offence proscribed, which is impossible, that, the per- 
son charged was not amenable under it; and that, conse- 
quently, no Court Martial, not alike weak and wicked, could 
convict] 

The section contemplates persons not citizens or persons 
not owing allegiance to the United States. This is a specific 
class of persons, which, only, could produce spies. A citizen, 
or one owing allegiance to the United States, who is not a 
soldier, is not amenable under the articles of war; or if he 
be, must be prosecuted for giving intelligence to the enemy, 
under the 57th article of the first section. And yet a Major 
General of the United States, dared to accuse and try a citi- 
zen, under a section of the law, so totally foreign to the mat- 
ter, which he believed, or did not believe, to be applicable to 
the case. If he believed it, then, was there the most repre- 
hensible ignorance of that which he was bound to know ; if 
he did not believe it, he attempted to sustain illegal power by 
the perversion of the law. 

118. When tidings of these proceedings were received at 
Washington, the conduct of the General was thus rebuked, 
by Alexander J. Dallas,* acting Secretary of War, by com- 
mand of the President. " Representations have been recent- 
ly made to the President, respecting certain acts of military 
opposition to the civil magistrate, that require immediate at- 
tention — not only in vindication of the just authority of the 
laws, but to rescue your own conduct from an unmerited 
reproach. 

"There have been transmitted, to the President, copies of 
the letter of Mr. Reed, your Aid-de-Camp, to the Editor of 

Mr Dallas' letter, dated April 15, 1815. 



56 QUALIFICATIONS OF GENERAL JACKSON. 

the Louisiana Courier, dated the 21st of February — of your 
General Order, dated the 28th of February, commanding cer- 
tain French subjects to retire from New Orleans — of a publi- 
cation in the Louisiana Courier of the 3d of March, under 
the signature of a Citizen of Louisiana of French origin, ani- 
madvertmg upon the General Order — the order of the 5th of 
March, enforcing the order of the 28th of February — of your 
letter of the 16th of February, announcing the unofficial in- 
telligence of peace, and of the third General Order of the 
8th of March, suspending the execution of the Order of the 
28th of February, except so far as relates to the Chevalier de 
Toussard. 

"These documents have been accompanied with a state- 
ment, that, on the 5th of March, the writer of the publication 
of the 3d of March, Mr. Louaillier, a member of the Legis- 
lature of the State, was arrested by your order, on account of 
the publication, and confined in the barracks; that, on the 
same day, Mr. Hall, the District Judge, issued a writ of Ha- 
beas Corpus in the case of Louaillier, but before the writ was 
served, the Judge himself was arrested by your order, for is- 
suing it, and conducted under a strong guard to the barracks: 
that, on the 8th of March, Mr. Dick, the attorney of the 
United States, having obtained from Mr. Lewis, as State 
Judge, a writ of Habeas Corpus, in the case of Judge Hall, 
which was served upon you, he was arrested by your orders, 
and lodged in the barracks — that Judge Hall was released, 
on the 12th of March, but escorted to a place out of the City 
of New Orleans, with orders not to return until information 
of peace was officially received and officially announced; and 
that Mr. Dick was released, on the same day, and permitted 
to remain in town, but with orders to report himself, from 
day to day, until discharged. 

" From these representations, it would appear, that, the 
judicial power of the United States has been resisted; the 
liberty of the Press has been suspended, and the Consul and 
subjects of a friendly Government have been exposed to 
great inconvenience by the exercise of jnilitary force and 
command. The President views the subject in its present 
aspect with surprise and solicitude ; but in the absence of 
all information from yourself, relative to your conduct, and 
the motives of your conduct, he abstains from any decision 
or even expression of an opinion upon the case, in hopes 
that such explanations may be afforded, as loill reconcile his 
sense of public duty with a continuance of the confidem f, 



QVALIFICATIONS OF GENERAL JACKSON. 57 

which he reposes in your judgment^ discretion and patriot- 



ism.^^ 



"The President requests me to take tliis opportunity of re- 
questing-, that a conciliatory deportnrient may be observed to- 
wards tlie State authority and citizens of INevv Orleans. He 
is persuaded that Louisiana justly estimates the value of the 
talents and valor which have been displayed for her defence 
and safety, and that there will be no disposition in any part 
of the nation to review with severity the efforts of a comman- 
der acting in a crisis of unparalleled difficulty upon the im- 
pxdse of the purest patriotism.'^ 

No terms of censure could be more explicit upon the con- 
duct of the General, as known from the ^^ representations,^^ 
and those representations were true to the letter. From this 
censure of his Government General Jackson has never been 
relieved, although he may have expiated a portion of his sins 
at ^i'ew Orleans, by submission to the sentence of the Court 
which was passed \i\)oa him for contempt of the writ of Ha- 
beas Corpus. 

119. From all the circumstances, then, attending the vio- 
lation of the law, and assumptions of authority, we have ad- 
ditional proof, of the tendency of General Jackson to appro- 
{)riate power to himself, by fair means, or foul. Such, too, 
appears to have been tiie general opinion of his character. 
He was supposed, rough in his manners, and overbearing- in 
his conduct; and he said of himself^ "many conceive me to 
be a most ferocious animal, insensible to moral duty and re- 
g-ardless of the laws, both of God and Man."* How far this 
opinion of the many, was consistent with truth, may, per- 
haps, be correctly apprehended from the next eventful epoch, 
in the life of the military chieftain. 

120. The treaty made at Fort Jackson, with the Creeks, 
was a hard one. It exacted larg-e sacrifices of territory, its 
phraseology was the most imperious and ungrateful which 
could be used towards a spirited people, and it was executed 
by only one-third of the nation. Is it, therefore, extraordi- 
nary that the usual effect of over rigour should result in this 
case, and that the suffering party should seek to escape from 
its burdens ? Under the name of Seminoles, (a Creek tribe) 
many Indians, including the vanquished of the late war, con- 
gregated in Florida, with considerable numbers of fugitive 
negroes. Even the late tremendous exhibition of the power 

* Eaton's Life of Jacksoo. 



58 QUALIFICATIONS OF GENERAL JACKSON. 

of the white men had not taught these deluded wretches the 
absolute impossibility of obtaining, even, justice by force. 
Stimulated by their late defeats, by the arts of wicked emis- 
saries, by the hopes of regaining their country, and, we fear, 
we must in justice add, by repeated injuries from the border- 
ing whites, the Seminoles, in the summer of 1817, re-com- 
nienced a barbarous war: for terminating which, the services 
of General Jackson were again commanded. 

121. On the 26th of December, 1817, the War Depart- 
ment issued orders to him, then at Nashville, to repair to 
Fort Scott, and assume the command of the forces in that 
quarter of the Southern division ; to call upon the Execu- 
tives of the adjacent States, if, in his opinion, the troops of 
the United States were too few to beat the enemy; and to 
adopt the necessary measures to terminate the conflict. On 
the receipt of this order, General Jackson, instead of calling 
for the militia, summoned to his aid 1200 volunteers from 

.Tennessee and Kentucky. This corps was organized, and 
officered, under his directions, and mustered into the service 
of the United States. About the same period. General Gaines, 
also, raised 1600 men, among the friendly Creeks. Gene- 
ral Jackson entered upon the campaign with a force of about 
3000: that, of the enemy, at the utmost, did not exceed one 
thousand; and, at no time did half that number present them- 
selves to oppose his march. Of course, little resistance was 
made. The Indian towns were destroyed, and their inhabit- 
ants dispersed,* 

122. In his progress, he captured, caused to be tried by 
court martial, and executed, Arbuthnot and Ambrister, two 
Englishmen, residents among, and averred to be instigators 
of the hostility of, the Seminoles; and he hung without trial, 
two Indian chiefs, who, by wiles, had been drawn into his 
power. He invaded the Spanish territory of Florida, reduced 
the forts of St. Mark and Barrancas, and the city of Pensa- 
cola, and commanded the reduction of St. Augustine; trans- 
ported the Spanish officers, civil and military, to the Havana ; 
abolished the revenue laws of Spain, instituted those of the 
United States ; and, on his own mere authority, established 
civil and military officers. 

123. The preceding sentence records, almost as many of- 

* In this campaign the troops of the United States suffered no 
loss, save in the death of six militia men, executed with the appro- 
bation of the General, for desertion. 



QUALIFICATIONS OF GENERAL JACKSON, 59 

fences as Tacts; and if it were separated from the context, 
the reader might readily suppose that he was perusinor an ac- 
count of the progress of an independent sovereign, or of a 
Roman Consul bearing tiio eagles of the "gowned nation" 
over new conquests. Whilst the events were fresh before 
the nation, the following charges were alleged, by our most 
eminent statesmen, against the General. 

1. That, in substituting volunteers, laised upon his own 
authority, for the militia, he assumed a power which did not 
legally belong, either to him or to the administration of the 
Government; fur, that, whilst tlie general law, provided for 
the use of the militia, no statute warranted the evocation of 
volunteers; and that, whatever the law provided, whether in 
form or substance, was obligatory upon its agents: 

2. That, by the organization of the volunteer corps, the 
officers and privates were independent of the Government 
and dependent upon the General : 

»3. That, the invasion of Florida was unwarranted ; that if 
warranted, it was only in pursuit or reduction of an enemy, 
who overpowered the neutral or was sustained by him ; 
that, if such cause justified the capture of St. Marks, it did 
not extend to the seizure of Fort Barrancas nor the city of 
Pensacola; that, if it even extended to them, it did not 
give a right to ^onquer the country, expel the Governor, 
abolish the laws, and convert the territory into a colony of 
the Unitsd States ; that, by these acts, the General had made 
war upon Spain, had changed the relations between us and 
that Government, and had, thus, assumed powers which could 
be exercised only by Congress : 

4. That, althougJi, it might be true, that, the cruelties 
practised in war by one belligerent, might, lawfully, be re- 
ttdiated by the other, and that, white men associating them- 
selves with savages were associated with their fate; yet, 
that, in the present case, the retaliation was unnecessary, the 
war being over, and was forbidden by the rule of mercy 
which a practice of three liundred years had established in 
North America; that, if the law of nations, in this re- 
spect, had not been thus abrogated, it had been executed 
without the knowledge or the sanction of the Government ;' 
and that, if the General had a right, witliout specific authori- 
ty, to enforce this law, it was exercised with indecorous and 
cruel precipitation. 

5. That, in the cases of x\rbuthnot and Ambristcr, he had 
alike, grossly, mistaken, the law, under which their offences 



60 QUALIFICATIONS OF GENERAL JACKSON. 

were cognizable, the mode in which they should be prosecu 
ted, and the evidence necessary to their conviction; that, the 
principle assumed by liim, "that, they, by uniting in war with 
the savafres asrainst the United States, whilst we were at 
peace with Great Britain, became outlaws and pirates, is not 
recognized in any code of national law ; that, if it were. La 
.Fayette, De Kalb, Pulaski, and a host of foreigners, who had 
aided in our Revolution, were outlaws and pirates, liable, if 
captured by the British, to suffer death ; That, though, these 
unfortunate men might, be subjected to the extremity of pain 
under the lex talionis, they were not the proper subjects of a 
court martial, being at the disposal of the commanding Gen- 
eral, or more properly of the Government of the United 
States; that, as the court martial was resorted to, for the 
protection of the General, he had delegated his authority and 
should have been concluded, thereby; that his rejection of the 
sentence of the court, decreeing stripes and imprisonment for 
Ambrister, and substituting the punishment of death, w'as ar- 
rogant, despotic and cruel; and that, the testimony upon 
which the sentence was founded would have been rejected 
in every Court governed by established rules of evidence. 

124. We do not purpose to investigate, at this day, all or 
either, of these charges. But we will state the manner in 
which they were disposed of. The irregularity in raising the 
troops was unobserved by the Government, or if observed, 
was, disregarded, nay, commended, in the hope, that a more , 
speedy termination of the campaign w^ould be thereby attain- fl 
ed. The seizure of Florida was condemned; the colony, 
with all its towns and fortifications, were delivered up to the 
Spanish authorities. The homicide of the Indian and white 
agitators, was deemed an event too good for banning and too 
bad for blessing. Those who suffered were held to have 
merited their fate; but every man of sensibility deplored, that, 
the reputation of the country, for civilization and humanity, 
had been stained by the execution ; all responded to the fol- 
lowing sentiment, of an eloquent gentleman, who, ably, dis- 
cussed the subject before Congress: "When," said he, "the 
fever of resentment shall have subsided in the breast of the 
General, and the exultation of conquest has passed away, and 
he shall look back upon the transaction with the feeling of 
man stripped of the pride of the conqueror, this deed of 
"bloody justice, will weigh heavy upon his heart, and embitter 
his days. I v/ould not endure the remorse that is in store for 
him, for all his laurels and all his eulogiums." 



QUALIFICATIONS OF GENERAL JACKSON. 61 

The justice and liumanity ol' this sentiment will not be 
<li^;piited, but its prophetic character may be qucsstioned. 
Your true hero is always so constituted, that he "looks with 
composure upon blood and carnage."* Your ambitious men, 
your Alexanders, your Ccsars, your Cromwells, your Bona- 
j partes, your Attillas, your bandits of every species, who 
^ will, intensely, march resolutely to their goal, though every 
step extinguish a life. The love of glory eradicates the love 
of man. Remorse comes, only, when fortune deserts them. 

125. But we have, in the events of this campaign, the 
most satisfactory evidence of the General's disregard of the 
Constitution and laws, as of his ignorance of the principles 
upon which the powers of his office, should have been ap- 
plied. In the levy of his troops he looked only to the end, 
disregarding the illegality of the means; in tlie invasion 
of Florida, he violated the rights of a friendly nation, and 
the Constitution of his own country; in the unnecessary 
execution of the wretched savages and their more criminal 
seducers he stained the reputation of his nation; and in all, 
he trod beneath his feet every principle save his own will. 
Here, as at all times, his motto was legible upon his sword, 

" Sic volo, sic jubeo ; siet pro ratlone voluntas.' 
which may be freely rendered, 

" JN'ol thi7ie, O Lord, but let my will be done." 

128. It may be observed here, that whilst our language 
scarce affords words strong enough to convey the flatteries 
upon the conduct of the General at New Orleans, his flatter- 
ers never speak of the glories of the Seminole war or of the 
Florida conquest. Thus, whilst the honest, decorous, and 
veracious Cobbett, the last, and, perhaps, the best paid Biog- 
rapher of the General, assures us, "That the battle of New 
Orleans broke the heart of European despotism ; and the man 
who won it did, in this one act, more for the good and the 
honour of the human race, than ever was yet done bv any 
other man besides himself," he has passed over the Seminole 
war in total silence. Not so the Congress. Committees of 
both Houses, made reports disapprobatory of his proceedings. 
The whole delegation of Georgia, a majority of that from 

*Lelter of General Jackson to IMr. Monroe commenting on the 
character of Mr. Madison. 

6 



62 QrALIFICATlONS OF GENERAL JACKSON. 

South Carolina, among- whom was the ever to be lamented 
Lowndes, and a decided majority of that from Virginia, join- 
ed in the condemnation. Mr. Adams, as Secretary of State, 
in a diplom.atic correspondence w'ith the Spanish Minister, 
defended the invasion, palliating", as an advocate of his coun- 
try, what as a judge he would have conscientiously condemn- 
ed in the perpetrator. 

127. The next public station, holden by General Jackson 
was that of Governor of Florida, and Commissioner under 
the treaty with Spain, of 1821. By an act of the 3d of 
March of that year, provision was made for the temporary 
government of the province, authorizing all the military, 
civil and judicial powers, exercised by the officers of the ex- 
isting Government, to be vested in such person or persons, 
and to be exercised in such manner, as the President should 
direct. The commission of General Jackson, dated the 10th 
of March, 1821, gave him the powers, theretofore exercised 
by the Governor and Captain General and Intendant of Cuba, 
and by the Governors of East and West Florida. Judges 
were also commissioned by the President, who were instruct- 
ed to regulate their functions by the laws of the United 
States. Accustomed, as we are, in the United States, to the 
separation of liie judicial, from the executive power, it 
ought not to have been possible tor any man to suppose, that 
when he designated several officers for tliese several depart- 
ments, the President designed to unite the powers of both in 
an individual. Yet, General Jackson, always construing his 
powers in the largest sense, assumed, to himself, all the de- 
partments of the Government, legislative, executive, and 
judicial. 

128. The Spanish ex-Governor, after the surrender of the 
province, being called upon, informally, as he supposed, to 
deliver up certain papers, which should" have been surrender- 
ed pursuant to treaty, refused ; whereupon the General caused 
his dwelling to be forcibly entered, by a military detachment, 
his papers to be seized, his person to be imprisoned, and the 
sealed boxes in Vv^hich the papers were, to be broken open. 
Upon application to the Judge of the District, an habeas cor- 
pus to bring up the prisoner, was issued, directed to the 
General, which he not only refused to obey, but, threatened 
to punish the Judge for -contempt. The Spanish officers, 
at Pensacola, took part v;ith their chief, and dared to breathe 
their griefs through the public press. This too was an of- 
fence, a libel, to be punished, not by the law, but by the will 



QUALIFICATIONS OF GENERAL JACKSON. 63 

of the Governor. The officers were banished, being com- 
pelled to leave Florida in four days. Tiiroughout the whole 
of this transaction the deportment of the Governor was fierce, 
and his language and»actions grossly rude and intemperate. 

129. Admitting, that, the conduct of the Spanish Inten- 
dant was wholly in the wrong; in declining the delivery of 
the papers, he was acting as a public officer or as a private in- 
dividual; if as a public officer, he was accountable to his own 
Government; if as a private individual, he was entitled to the 
privileges of an inhabitant, or citizen of the United States. 
Who then amongst us is prepared to say, that if tlie Govern- 
ment of the United States had a claim upon any individual, 
and to make the case stronger, upon a foreigner, for valuable 
papers belonging to the public archives or to private estates, 
tiiat the President might, with justice and propriety, send an 
armed force to break open his dwelling, seize his papers and 
etfects, and drag him from his bed to prison] Would not any 
man regardful of the most precious of natural rights, person- 
al liberty and security, have proceeded by means of the 
civil authority, where he possessed the choice, even though 
he might have vested in himself, the Turkish, the despotic 
power, of simultaneously making the law, and trying and pun- 
ishmg the offender. But when General Jackson entered the 
field, in whatever character, whether as General or Gover- 
nor, all power centered in his person; the law of nations, the 
civil law, nay, the law of nature, were at once annihilated, and 
the bayonet, the prison or exile, rendered the legislator, the 
judge and the citizen, obedient to his will, or removed them 
from his path. His conduct in this case could not be sup- 
ported by the administration that appointed him; and having 
brought it to the notice of Congress, the President left it 
with them. The subject was lost sight of and forgotten, 
when, a few months afterwards the oppressive Governor was 
removed, by the establishment of a permanent system of go- 
vernment for the territory. His conduct in this station, in 
the opinion of the venerable Jefierson, showed him incompe- 
tent to an executive trust. 

130. The ordinances of Governor Jackson, in Florida, hav- 
ing been made with due deliberation, are, perhaps, the best 
reflection of his character which has been given. Before the 
surrender of the province, the councils of its cities were elec- 
tive, and the inhabitants were free from taxation. When he 
assumed the government, he appointed those councils by his 
own will, and filled them with strangers, ignorant of the inter- 



64 QUALIFICATIONS OF GENERAL JACKSON. 

ests of the people: He constituted Courts, whose judges were 
nominated by himself, and dependent upon his pleasure, in 
whom was vested the highest judicial power: He established 
new rules of naturalization, and though prohibited by his 
commission to exercise the taxing power, imposed onerous 
excises, and empowered the councils, he had created, to 
levy fines, penalties and forfeitures, by ordinance or other- 
loise, subjecting the property of the citizen to their invasion, 
without limit and without rule : He exiled many respectable 
individuals, and caused some of them, who returned in a pri- 
vate character to protect their properties and their families, 
to be imprisoned. .-In a word, no Roman Proconsul ever ex- 
ercised more absolute sway. And so full was the understand- 
ing, among the inhabitants, of his character, that, the players 
flattered him, by heading their play bills " Jacksonian Com- 
monwealth." 

131. So oppressive were his ordinances, that the inhabit- 
ants, instead of blessing the act which made them citizens of 
the United States, deeply deplored their fate. More than 
seven hundred, of the most respectable, preferred to abandon 
their homes, rather than submit to his tyranny; and an 
equal number, who were about to remove from Cuba to Flor- 
ida, abandoned their purpose. The Congress of the United 
States, when apprized of these measures, so injurious to the 
honour of the country, not only, indignantly, abolislied the 
ordinances, but made their enforcement highly penal, and di- 
rected the President to cause to be refunded all «ums of 
money which had been levied under them. The repealing 
act was most appropriately entitled, " An Act to relieve the 
people of Florida from the operation of certain ordinances." 
The bill received, in Senate, tw6 readings in a single day, 
by unanimous consent, and was passed through Congress with 
almost unexampled rapidity. 

132. We have, now, seen General Jackson in all the staa 
tions of his life, anterior to his election to the Presidency; 
and, we have the means of judging, with confidence, of his 
ability. That he possessed the military virtues of promptitude 
and firmness, and in excess too, may be admitted. But, ex- 
tremes meet; and excess converts virtue into vice. Thus 
excessive promptness becomes precipitation, and excessive 
firmness, obstinacy. We have seen this metamorphosis most 
fully completed in his relations with the offices and officers, 
in civil life. But, let us examine this question of ability more 
closely, Andrew Jackson was 47 years of age when ho en- 
tered the military service of the United States, in 1814. Pre- 



QUALIFICATIONS OF GENERAL JACKSON, 65 

vioiis to tliis period, we have not the slightest evidence of his 
capacity lor civil duties. There has not been, there cannot 
be, traced to him a single civil or political measure of any 
character; no speech, no written essay, no report, shows that 
he had ever considered any subject of civil polity. The 
painful sense of inferiority had driven him from every civil 
post, and so wholly did he contemn the civil authority, that 
his life, if his own report of his reputation be true, must 
have been in almost perpetual conflict with it; for such a 
cause, only, could he have been deemed " a most ferocious 
animal, insensible to moral duty, and regardless of the laws 
both of God and man." 

The development of the organ of combativeness, no doubt, 
promoted him to the military command which he had long 
retained, and was the cause of arraying him against the con- 
stituted authorities of his country, in the volunteer expedi- 
tion to the South, in 1814. No distinguished ability can be 
claimed for him in this campaign; nor, certainly, in the mis- 
erable wars against the Creeks, and Seminoles. We grant, 
that these afforded no opportunity for acquiring fame of any 
sort, save for moderation and humanity, which he dis- 
dained. These campaigns are remarkable for the feuds be- 
tween the General and his troops, in the first; and in the 
second, for the violation of national law, and the involvement 
of the Government in a delicate controversy with Spain, from 
which it was extricated, more by the talents of our statesmen 
and the weakness of their opponents, than by tlie goodness of 
their cause. The administration of the General in Florida, 
is stamped with the same inability for civil affairs, and disre- 
gard of civil power, and the same imperious will, which had 
every where attended him. 

133. In 1824, he was again returned to the Senate of the 
United States; but again that withering sense of inferiority 
which had driven him from every situation requiring intel- 
lectual power, sent him from the Capitol, and, in less than 
two years, he resigned his seat. His prudence upon this oc- 
casion, does not admit of doubt. He was a candidate for the 
Presidency, and had he been kept, conspicuously, before the 
nation, the discovery of his inefficiency would have effectually 
destroyed the hopes of himself and his friends. At the Her- 
mitage, those who had him in keeping could furnish for him 
appropriate sentiments and language lor all occasions, 

134. We have, then, no period of the General's public ser- 
vice, in which ability of any kind can be claimed for him, 
save, the campaign of New Orlean?. But we have abundant 



66 QUALIFICATIONS OF GENERAL JACKSON. 

evidence, that military glories are often obtained without ex- 
traordinary talents, an commanders; and the history of 
our own country supplies a remarkable instance, in the 
ever memorable victory of Saratoga ; a far more influential 
event upon our fate, than the battle of New Orleans. The 
fortunate Gates was elevated, as the fortunate Jackson, in 
public esteem. Before the lustre of his reputation, that of 
Washington faded, and plans were formed, for putting into the 
hands of the former, the destinies of the United States. But, 
heaven, in mercy, had otherwise decreed. The exigencies of 
the southern war developed the inability of ^General Gates, and 
extinguished the unfounded attachment of his countrymen. 

135. How, then, it will be asked, if General Jackson be 
destitute of ability, has he become a favourite With the peo- 
ple'? How obtained a nomination for, how elected to, the Pres- 
idency] Because, we reply, as in the case of General Gates, 
his name was fortunately connected with a great, useful and 
popular event. But, there is yet another answer. It is inci- 
dent to power to produce awe and veneration in the observer, 
and when exerted for his benefit, to become the parent of af- 
fection. There is that in the countenance of authority which 
most of us are disposed to call master; and military fame has 
irresistible attraction for the mass of mankind. The fame of 
success is always to the General. The counsellor who plans, 
the soldier who toils and dies for victory, are buried and for- 
gotten. But the commander in chief, though his foes have 
madly offered themselves, in hecatombs, as food for his pow- 
der, though his merit be, simpl}?', to order the match to the 
guns, lives in story, and in enduring marble; his name is. 
blessed in the hour of national festivity, and made familiar to 
the lisping lips of our infants. In a word, the chief becomes 
popular, and obtains an awful power, for good or for evil. 

136. Thus we have shown, that however disqualified the 
General may have been for the office of President, when 
considered in relation to the public welfare, he possessed 
all the requisites for a paity leader, whose motions were 
to be directed by others. Popular, whatever might be his 
acts, they would have an immediate favourable acceptance ; 
uninformed, the opinions of others would readily be poured 
into his mind ; rash and confident, he would promptly make 
them his own ; ambitious, he would be flattered by the • ex- 
tension of his power; energetic and obstinate, he would 
resolutely and perseveringly enforce all measures which he 
should adopt. 



CHAPTER VI. 

THE ELECTION OF GENERAL JACKSON AND THE COM- 
MENCEMENT OF REFORM. 

137. General Jackson was cliosen President in 1628, by- 
one hundred and t\venty-ei<^lit votes in the primary electoral 
colleges, given by sixteen States, including Virginia and 
Georgia, which, in the previous election, had cast their votes 
for Mr. Cravvlbrd. Mr. Adams was supported by the six 
New England States, by New Jersey, which had previously 
voted against liim, by Delaware, and by sixteen votes from 
New York, and six from Maryland. 

138. The change was effected, partly, by the personal and 
selfish considerations upon which we have descanted; partly, 
from the hope that his administration would countenance the 
southern heresies, on the constitutional powers, relative to 
the tariff' and internal improvements; partly from an assu- 
rance that it would maintain the new and selfish system of 
Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi, relative to the Indian 
tribes; and partly by the sectional, clannish spirit, which, in 
this case, moved the West, to support a western man. From 
Mr. Adams, the aspiring men of these States expected noth- 
ing, but the improvement of the general condition of the 
country; from General Jackson they hoped the improvement 
of their particular fortunes. 

139. But shadows, clouds and darkness, rested upon the 
political opinions of the General. So little had he been con- 
nected with the political affairs of the nation, that his opinion? 
on the most important points of its policy were unknown. 
This had been advantageous to him, in one respect. It had 
enabled his friends to give them any phase which the wishes 
of the people, in their respective districts, might require. 
He professed to be a disciple of the Jefferson school; and in 
relation to the appointing power, now the most important, be- 
cause the most dangerous, under the Constitution, he bettered 
the instruction of his master. We seek no sounder views, 
on this subject, than are found, in one of his letters, of 1816, 
to Mr. Monroe, which, though widely spread, have never 
been seen by three out of ten who voted for him. We copy 
them, that they may be contrasted with the practice he has 
since pursued. 

67 



68 ELECTION OF GEN. JACKSON — REFORM. 

140. "Every thing," he says, "depends on the selection of 
your ministry. In every selection, party and party feelings 
should be avoided. Now is the time to extirpate that mon- 
ster, called party spirit. By selecting characters most con- 
.spicuous for their probity, virtue, capacity and firmness, with- 
out any regard to party, you will go far to eradicate those 
feelings, which, on former occasions, threw so many obsta- 
cles in the way of government, and, perhaps, have the plea- 
sure and honour of uniting a people heretofore politically di- 
vided. The Chief Magistrate of a ^reat and powerful na- 
tion should never indulge in party feelings; his conduct 
should be liberal and disinterested, always bearing in mind, 
that he acts for the whole and not a part of the community. 
By this course you will exalt the national character, and ac- 
quire for yourself, a fame as imperishable as monumental 
marble. Consult no party in your choice, pursue the dictates 
of that unerring judgment, which has so long and so often 
benefited our country, and rendered illustrious its rulers." 

These highly moral and patriotic principles he seems to 
liave maintained so late as May, 1824, when, in a letter to 
the Honorable George Kremcr, he observed, "My advice to 
the President was, that he should act upon principles like 
these: Consider himself the head of the nation, not of a par- 
ty; that he should have around him the best talent the coun- 
try could afford, without regard to sectional divisions; and 
should, in his selections, seek after men of probity, virtue, 
capacity and firmness; and, in this way, he would go far to 
eradicate those feelings which, on former occasions, threw so 
many obstacles in the way of government; and be enabled, 
perhaps, to unite a people heretofore politically divided." 

141. Had General Jackson, indeed, possessed the high, 
though uncultivated, intellect which his admirers ascribe to 
him, and the resolute honesty of purpose whicii he boasts, 
the present would have been the occasion for their exercise, 
from which he would have derived "a fame as imperishable 
as monumental marble." But, instead of the destroyer of the 
monster party, he became its tool, its very slave; and obeyed 
its voice with a ready submission which contrasts, oddly 
enough, with his restiveness under wholesome restraint upon 
other occasions, and with which we might have been sur- 
prised, had we not known that lowliness is oft ambition's 
ladder. 

142. The voice of this party, begotten and born in corrup- 
tion, resounded from all quarters, like the bowlings of fam 



ELECTION OF OEN. JACKSON — REFORM. 69 

ished (logs that had run down the chace and awaiied the divi- 
sion of the spoil. In Congress the public business was neg- 
lected, while the members were engaged in intrigues for 
securing office to themselves or friends. The Senate refused 
to confirm nominations to office upon the general principle of 
the propriety of the occasion, and the qualifications of the 
nominees, but postponed tlie appointments avowedly on party 
grounds — and tiiat the offices might be filled, not by the ac- 
tual President, but by his successor. In this, adoptmg the 
doctrine of* Mr. Van Buren, with which that artful politician 
had suri)riscd the Senate soon after he gained a seat there, 
by declaring in the case of the appointment of a Marshall for 
the Western District of Pennsylvania, that the votes of the 
nominee for President should be the test of the propriety of 
his appointment. The City of Washington was crowded by 
hungry expectants, who claimed the removal from office of 
incumbents, upon the principle of rotation in office — of 
some who had supported the General, because they had grown 
f-ich; of others, of this class, because they might have grown 
wealthy, and had neglected the opportunity ; of those who 
had not supported the General, because, they held the sta- 
tions due to those who had toiled and sacrificed their time and 
money in the contest. The disgusting venality of the party 
,was not only notorious, it was boastingly avowed. Thus ex- 
claimed one print of New York, an organ of the.party: 

143. "The fact is, there is no classification in this busi- 
ness; it is a great national reform, which involves but two 
considerations — one is embraced, in the principle of rotation 
in office; and the other, in the homely, hut trite saying, that 
*he who is not for us is against us.^ We are a government 
of opinion — every man has a right to express his opinion 
freely, and after a great national election, distinguished for 
extraordinary warmth and activity, w^here man was opposed 
to man, and for nearly four years was the subject of daily dis- 
cussion, how can a person holding a lucrative office hope to 
escape securely, by saying, 'I had no opinion.' The subject, 
it is true, is one of deliberation, and will, we think, be freely 
discussed, when the President shall be at leisure and sur- 
rounded by his cabinet; but it must be reduced at last, to 
principles and names. 

" We can only say that a thorough reform, is expected by 
the enemies as well as the friends of General Jackson." 

The logic and morality of this extract, are alike contemptible. 

Reform'. National Reform ! to be effected by the removal 



70 ELECTION OP GEN. JACKSON — REFORM. 

of the national officers, not for official malversation, not for 
difference of opinion on measures, governing the public weal, 
but for difference in opinion, on the qualifications of candi- 
dates for the first magistracy. A Reform which involved no 
other principle than the reward of the minions of the success- 
ful candidate. A more impudent avowal of venality, of the 
worst principles that can be applied to government, has never 
been made. But, that they were acceptable, is but too la- 
mentably true; for, the editor, who, with so much effrontery, 
proclaimed them, was rewarded with one of the best offices 
in the New York custom house. 

144. But such improvement of the press, sought by Mr. Van 
Buren, bad been widely extended. Editors of newspapers, 
who " toiled hard and spent their money, ^^ in almost every 
State of the Union, preferred claims for remuneration, which 
were generally admitted, and discharged by a productive 
office. Thus, full fifty of the patriotic presses were improved, 
by the master spirit, who has directed their operations to aid 
his succession to the Presidency. Of the unconstitutionality 
of the power thus exercised by the President, we shall have 
occasion to speak fully hereafter. Of the manner in which 
the General was cheered and urged to its exercise, so de- 
structive to public virtue, the following, from the pen of the 
same New York editor, is a fair specimen. 

^* Removals. The work goes bravely on; the friends of 
Mr. Adams are removed from otEce, and the friends of 
General Jackson are appointed. This course, indicating 
firmness and obedience to the public will, will give perma- 
nency to any administration." 

145. The reader will observe, that, there is not even a 
pretence of public utility urged for this proscription. It is 
admitted to have been made because the subjects are friends 
of Mr. Adams, and their substitutes the friends of General 
Jackson. The public offices are avowedly seized and distri- 
buted as spoils taken with the sword and the spear ; and the 
administration is told, what indeed, it well knew, and what 
had induced the practice, that, the proscription would give 
permanency to its power. If, before the President left the 
Hermitage, his own temper had not prompted him to "reward 
his friends and punish his enemies," if the desire of vengeance 
had not caused him then, to forget or disregard the profes- 
sions he had made to Mr. Monroe, it is certain, that before 
his inauguration he had been seduced by the hope of this 
permanency, to adopt the slang and the practice of reform : 



ELECTION OF GEN. JACKSON — REFORM. 71 

in other words, to prostitute his otiicial power to continue 
himself in office. 

Nay, this proscription has been unblushingly defended in 
the United States Senate, by Mr. Marcy, the present Gover- 
nor of New York. " When they," (the politicians) he ex- 
claimed, "are contending for victory, they avow their inten- 
tion of enjoying the fruits of it. If they are defeated they 
expect to retire from office. If they are successful, they 
claim as a matter of right, the advantage of success. They 
see nothing wrong in the rule, that to the victor belongs the 
spoils of the enemy." 

146. We know not who prepared the President's inaugu- 
ral address. From the careful non-committal^ in many points, 
it savours of Mr. Van Buren, but it wants the gloss, with 
whicii that gentleman usually covers his doublings, and it is, 
therefore, probable, that it came from the unlettered soldier, 

I rather than from the Machiavelian civilian. With foreign 
nations, the President proposed to preserve peace^ and culti- 
vate friendship: To the States, the sovereign members of the 
Union, he promised, not to confound the powers they had re- 
served^ with those they had granted: In the management 
of the revenue, which is falsely assumed as an executive 
prerogative, he proposed strict and faithful economy, with a 
view to the payment of the public debt, and to counteract 
that tendency to public and private profligacy, which a pro- 
fuse expenditure of money, by the Government, is but too apt 
to engender: In the selection of subj^'cts for impost, he pro- 

, fessed equal favour to agriculture, commerce, and manufac- 
tures; excepting from the rule the peculiar productions of 
either, which might be essential to national independence : 
Internal improvements, and the diffusion of knowledge, so far 
as they could be promoted by constitutional acts, he deemed 
of high importance: He further promised, not to enlarge the 
army, nor regard the military other than as subordinate to 
thecivil power; to increase the navy, gradually ; tostrengthen 
the militia; and to observe towards the Indian tribes a just 
and liberal policy. 

147. Upon all the uncontested subjects of national polity, 
tills profession of faith and practice offers nothing new. Upon 
tiic vexed questions of the tariff, and internal improvements, 
it is designedly and strikingly equivocal. In the promise to 
the States, South Carolina saw encouragement to nullifica- 
tion: In the strict and faithful economy, in the guarded re- 
marks on the tariff and internal improvements, the enemies 



72 ELECTION OF GEN. JACKSON — REFORM. 

of the American System found a pledge for its abandonment; 
And in the just and liberal policy towards the Indians, Georgia 
beheld the fruition of her designs upon the gold lands of the 
Cherokees. Yet the friends of domestic industry and inter- 
, nal improvements, notwithstanding their apprehensions, would 
see in these plausible, indefinite expressions, only a disposi- 
tion for their judicious regulation. 

The duties on which we have commented, grew from the 
Constitution. But the new President found others which had 
a different origin. "The recent demonstrations of public 
sentiment," he says, "inscribes on the list of Executive du- 
ties, in characters too legible to be overlooked, the task of 
REFORM, (that is, rotation in office) lohich vnll require, par- 
ticularly, the correction of those abuses that have brought 
the patronage of the Federal Government into conflict with 
the freedom of elections, and the counteraction of those 
causes which have disturbed the rightful course of appoint- 
ment, and have placed, or continued power in unfaithful 
or incompetent hands.'''' 

" In the performance of a task thus generally delineated, 
I shall endeavour to select men whose diligence and talents 
loill ensure in their respective stations able and faithful co- 
operation — depending upon the advancement of the public 
more on the integrity and zeal of the public officers than on 
their number s^ 

We had supposed, that, the President of the United States 
was the mere creature of the Constitution, that his powers 
were given and regulated by it, and that he had neither du- 
ties prescribed nor powers conferred from any other source. 
That in it he lived, moved, and had his being. We bow be- 
fore the divinity of Public Sentiment, but it is in the temples 
which it has ordained, in halls of legislation and the courts 
of law. Legislators and Judges are its Priests and the ex- 
pounders of its will, and the President is but their executor. 
But the President has assumed to be the high priest of this 
divinity, which he considers paramount to the Constitution 
and the law, and its responses are made by and through him 
alone. The demonstration of public sentiment to which he 
professes obedience, is not a mere figure of speech. He as- 
signs it as authority for a Sylla-like proscription, in the at- 
tainment of power, and appeals to it, throughout hisadminis-.- 
tration, to justify violation of the best established rights. 

148. From the following passage of the President's Mes- 
sage, of December, 1830, will be seen, the kind of worship 






ELECTION OF CEN. JACKSON — REFORM. 73 

winch he ofler^ to this divinity. Like the Pagan priests gen-r 
erally, he is ever ready to obey the idol, having first supplied 
the sentiments of tiio oracle. " I know of no tribunal," he says, 
*'to which a public man in this country, in a case of doubt and 
difficulty, can appeal with greater advantage or more pro- 
priety, ihan the judgment of the people; and although I must 
necessarily in discharge of my official duties, be governed by 
the dictates of my own judgment, 1 have no desire to conceal 
my anxious wish, to conform, as far as I can, to the views ot 
those for whom I act." Now this is very clear, though, per- 
haps, not very consistent. Here is protbund respect for the 
public judgment, but more profound, for his own will. The 
people are to be king, but the President, is to be viceroy over 
them. But upon the relations between himself and the peo- 
ple, the President is still more explicit. He submits to the 
popular will when not opposed to the dictates of his own 
judgment, and successfully obviates every inconvenience 
which might result from a conflict of judgments, by assuming 
to interpret that of the people. For, he continues, " All ir- 
regular expressions of public opinion are, of necessity, at- 
tended with some doubt as to their accuracy; but making full 
allowances on that account, I cannot, I think, deceive my- 
selti in believing that the acts referred to, {internal iwj)rovt- 
vients) as well as the suggestions which I allowed myself to 
make in relation to their bearing upon the future operations 
of the Government, have been approved by the great body of 
the people." 

149. This new source of presidential power merits to be 
dwelt upon, as well from the originality of the discovery, as 
the dangerous use to which it is applicable, and is applied. 
It is to an unprincipled politician, the most convenient engine 
which lias ever been invented, for battering- down the trouble- 
some barriers of the Constitution. Observe the process. The 
President suggests, in studiously indefinite terms, his views 
on some measure of public policy. Those who do not under- 
stand those peculiar views, and who, understanding, would 
oppose them, cannot object to them, on account of the terms 
in which they are conveyed. The Government presses, of 
which there are several in every State, shed such light upon 
these suggestio72S as they are instructed, taking due care to 
praise them without stint. These echoes alone are heard by 
the President, and are taken as the voice of the people. The 
condemnation of the suggestions by those who may have dis- 
covered tlieir true tendency, are utterly disregarded. But in 

4 



74 ELECTION OF GLS. JACSSOX^UEFORM. 

the commendation of the venal presses, the President iin-ds 
aut':ority, that justifies him in prostrating, so far as in him 
lies, the measures which have received the most unequivocal 
sanction of the nation, expressed in the resolutions and acts 
of its representatives, in Congress assembled. The Vv'hole 
system is one of demagog'ical tyranny, and has no other ob- 
ject, than, that which is almost avowed, to render the will of., 
the Executive paramount in the State. 

150. But we demand, what were the abu3^:■s requiring re 
form and which brougiitthe patronage of the Government into 
conflict with the freedom of elections] They were certain- 
ly not found in removals from office by Mr. Adams for political 
opinions or conduct. He made none. lie filled the public 
offices, not \\ith those v^-ho claimed to have purchased them, 
by the exjjenditure of tune and money ; but with tiiose, who 
had capacity and integrity fitting them for the service. What 
causes, we demand, could or did disturb the rightful course of 
appointment! That course had been such only as the Con- 
stitution prescribed. With the motives of change avowed — 
rotation in office, reward of friends, and punishment of ene- 
mies, the pretension to public virtue is, at least, not modest. 

151. The new duty of reform was instantly commenced, 
and zealously prosecuted. Between the 4th of March, 1829. 
when the President assumed office, and the 4th of March 
1830, he displaced, chiefs and subordinates, more than twc 
thousand persons; nor was the destroying sword staid unti 
the more considerate partisans, knowing tliat the blood of thf 
martyrs is the seed of the church, cried, Hold, Enough! Min 
isters to foreign countries who had scarce reached their des 
tinations were recalled, and a large expenditure thereby unne 
cessarily incurred, on the ground that, with every change oi 
the Executive, there should be a change of all officers, hold 
ing responsible relations with the Executive — a ground whicl 
had not been taken when party spirit w^as wildest, and which 
if assumed hereafler, must, every four years, throw our for 
eign relations into confusion and impose a greivous burthei 
on the treasury. Collectors and other agents of the custom 
were removed, even to the tide-waiters, who depended upoi 
their daily wages for their daily bread; and not only wen^ 
their places filled by famished expectants but new places wend 
created to satisfy partisan rapacity. The Post Office wa i 
prostituted. The virtuous and efficient head, under whosi 
ministration it had ceased to be a charge upon the treasury ;|j 
refusing to become the pander of this reform, was translated 






r 



ELECTION OF OEN. JACKSON — REFORM. 75 



reluctantly, to another station ; and his place friven to one, 
who made the department bankrupt, in corrupting* tlie people, 
and wiio has, unreproved, nay, appnwcd, by the President, 
openly and undeniably violated the Constitution, by borrow- 
ing money on the credit of the United Slates without author- 
ity, Bui of this more hereafter. \Vc must not in this enu- 
meration of tlie pure eflects of reform, omit to state, tliat they 
reached even the Presidential electors. In Ohio tive were 
appointed to otlice. 

152. The reform was not confined to the mere removal of 
official incumbents. The tenure of office was changed. Prior 
to the election of tlic Reformer, office was holden during the 
will of the President, which, in practice, was during the 
faithful performance of its duties. But a new construction 
was given, and the pleasure of the President was made to 
mean, whilst the officer obeyed his will in all respects. If 
any sinecure had existed it was now made to cease, for every 
incumbent was required to be instant, in season and cut of 
season, in highways and by-ways, to cry aloud and spare not, 

in service of the Reform. Some ofiicers, they have been 

few, have in removal, suffered the penally of neglect of this 
duty. Mr. Jefferson denounced and punished, as criminal, 
all interference by officers of the General Gofernment in 
})opuhir elections. General Jackson rewards as virtuous, the 
most flagrant exercise of official influence upon the elective 
franchise. 

153. This abuse of the povv'er of appointment and removal 
is direct bribery; the most glaring, as it is the most success- 
fi^l, in modern times. It is in effect, an alteration of the 
Constitution, prostrating the only barrier between the Execu- 
tive power and the people. In no other mode, save by mili- 
tary power, can the Executive control the public will. But, 
with t!ie hope of appointment and the dread of removal, he 
operates on the polls, in the clioice of agents, not only of the 
General Government, but even of the municipal institutions 
of the States — carrying into effect the plan proposed in 1629, 
at Washington, to form a great national party, Vvhich should 
rule in the State Legislatures, as in Congress, with its head- 
quarters at Wasliington, and with all the apparatus of presses 
and committees. This njode of corruption was not new. It 
had been, unhappily, long in use, in several of the States 
especially in New York and Pennsylvania, where the first 
Secretaries of State and the Treasury, appointed by General 
Jackson, had grown expert in employing it. But, the virtue 



76 ELECTION OF GEN. JACKSON — REFORM. 

and wisdom of the Presidents of the United States had, 
hitherto, resisted its introduction at Washington. 

154. It was now, however, resorted to, with the most care- 
ful consideration of the means to make it effective. The 
removal of existing incumbents might be deemed, only, a 
measure of vengeance, towards enemies and gratitude to- 
wards friends, whilst thousands of serviceable spirits who 
had been animated to action by the hope of reward, would 
suffer their energies to subside in chagrin and despondency. 
It was, therefore, necessary, tliat the hope of office should be 
nourished, that the door of entrance should be kept open, not- 
withstanding most of the oftlces had been, momentarily, re- 
formed. The President's Inaugural address spoke only of 
reform; but the Congressional Message of 1829, promised 
frequent change in office. By it the policy of the Executive 
on this head was developed, and the intention of applying this 
instrument of corruption, to the Legislature and tlie people, 
rendered palpable. The iMessage having recommended a 
change in the mode of electing the President and Vice Presi- 
dent, adds: 

155. "If, however, it should be adopted, it is worthy of 
consideration whether a provision disqualifying for ofhce the 
representatii'es in Congres;?, on whom such an election may . 
have devolved, would not be proper. 

"Wliile members of Congress can be constitutionally ap- 
pointed to offices of trust and profit, it will be the practice, . 
even under the most conscientious adherence to duty, to se- 
lect them for such stations as they are believed to be better 
qualified to fill than other citizens; but the purity of our gov- 
ernment would, doubtless, be promoted by their exclusion' 
from all appointments in the gift of the President, in whose 
election they may have been officially concerned. The na-- 
ture of the judicial office, and the necessity of securing in •; 
the cabinet and in diplomatic stations of the highest rank,', 
the best talents and political experience, .should, perhaps, ex- ■ 
cept these from the exclusion. 

"There are, perhaps, few men who can, for any length of 
time, enjoy office and power, without being more or less un- 
der the influence of feelings unfavourable to a faithful dis- 
charge of their public duties. Their integrity may be proof 
against improper considerations immediately addressed to 
themselves; but they are apt to acquire a habit of looking 
with indifference upon the public interests, and of tolerating 
conduct, from whicli unpractised men would revolt. Office 



ELECTION OP GEN. JACKSON— REFORM. 77 

is considered as a species of property; and government ra- 
ther as a means of promoting individual interests, than as an 
instrument created solely lor the service of the people, — cor- 
ruption in some, and in others, a perversion of correct feel- 
ing.s and principles, divert government from its legitimate 
ends, and make it an engine for the support of the few, at 
the expense of the many. The duties of all 'public officers 
are, or nt least admit of hcinfr made, so •plain and simple, 
that the intelligent may readily qualify them for their per- 
formance ; and I cannot but believe, that more is lost by the 
long continuance of men in office, than is generally to be 
gained by their experience. Isubmit therefore, to your con- 
sideration, whether the efficiency of the government would 
not be promoted, and official industry and integrity better .se- 
cured, by a general extension of the law, which limits ap- 
pointments to four years. 

" In a country where offices are created solely for the bene- 
fit of the people, no one man has any more intrinsic right to 
official station than another. Offices were not established to 
give support to particular men at the public expense. No 
individual wrong is therefore done by removal, since neither 
appointment to nor continuance in office is matter of right. 
The incumbent became an officer with a view to public bene- 
fits; and when these require his removal, they are not to be 
sacrificed to private interests. It is the people, and they 
alone, who have a right to complain when a bad officer is 
substituted for a good one. He who is removed has the same 
means of obtaining a living that are enjoyed by the millions 
who never held office. The proposed limitation would de- 
stroy the idea of property now so generally connected with 
official station; and although individual distress may be some- 
limes produced, it would, by promoting that rotation which 
constitutes a leading principle in the republican creed, give 

^healthful action to the system." 

156. Now this is broad enough to be readily understood by 
members of Congress elect, and to be elected, and by every 
office-seeker throughout the land. The first are told, that it 
will be the practice, even under the most conscientious adhe- 
rence to duty, to select them for such stations, as they are be- 
lieved better qualified to fill than other citizens. The nature 
of this better qualification is now understood to be implicit 
obedience to Presidential behests, which some of the officers 
selected from Congress, as Messrs. Branch, Berrien, Ingham 

! and Mcliane, have not been able, perpetually, to mahitain. 

i 7* 



78 ELECTION OF GEN. JACKSON — REFORM. 

Disappointed applicants for place are encouraged to persevere; 
being told, that continuance in office smacks of corruption; 
that all are competent to office; that industry and integrity 
are better secured by short and limited tenure; that no con- 
sideration will stay the removal of an officer, when the public 
benefit {read party interests) require it; and that rotation in 
office constituting a leading principle in the republican creed 
gives healthful action to the system. The writer of this por- 
tion of the Message knew, in the language of the orator of 
Roanoke, " that the power of conferring favors creates a crowd 
of dependants; that, when a savory morsel is held up to the 
eager eyes of the liungry hounds, it matters not, whether, 
the gift be bestowed on Towser, Sweetlips, Tray, Blanch or 
Sweetheart ; while held in suspense, they are all governed by 
a nod, and when the morsel is cast, the expectation of the fa- 
vours of to-morrow, keeps up the subjection of to-day." 

157. A word, however, becomes necessary, here, upon the 
maxim of "rotation in office," much abused and misunder- 
stood. A perpetual President, would, in this country, not 
only be a monarch, but, probably, speedily, a despot. A mem- 
ber of Congress, if not liable to frequent change, might be- 
come corrupt or negligent, and would not have that impress 
of the times, that intimate knowledge of the interests of the 
people and disposition to promote them, which he now pos- 
sesses. But what injury can possibly accrue to the State 
from the continuance, of a faithful postmaster, collector or 
clerk, in office? It is as absurd, to suppose, danger in such 
cases, as in that of a tried, and faithful domestic servant. 
The attempt to extend the maxim to agents of this class, is 
but a measure of party tactics. The true spirit of the maxim 
is this: When the people find, that, an officer does not fulfil 
the purpose of his appointment, that they may put in his place 
one that will. 

158. The broad manifestation of the President's views, in 
relation to office, had become necessar}-, from his declarations, 
when a candidate for office ; when, uninstructed by skilful 
advisers, he may have believed, that there was other discrim- 
ination between virtue and vice, than their adaptation to pro- 
posed ends. In his letter of October 7, 1825, addressed to 
the Learislature of Tennessee, when resigning his seat in the 
Senate of the United States, the General observed: 

159. "With a view to sustain, more effectually in practice, 
the axiom which divides the three great classes of power into 
constitutional checks, I would impose a provision rendering 



ELECTION OF GEN. JACKSON — REFORM. 79 

any member of Congress ineligible to office, under tlie Gen- 
eral (iovernincnt during the term for which he was elected, 
and two years thereafter, except i;i cases of judicial office, 
Tiie etlcct of such a constitutional provision is obviou.s. By 
it, Congress, in a considerable degree, would be free from 
that connexion with the Executive Department, which at 
present gives strong ground of apprehension and jealousy on 
the part of the people. Menjbcrs, instead of being liable to 
be withdrawn from legislating on the great interests of the 
nation, through prospects of Executive patronage, would be 
more liberally confided in by tiieir constituents; whilst their 
vigilance would be less interrupted by party feelings and par- 
ty excitements. Calculations from intrigues or management 
would fail; nor would their deliberations or investigations of 
subjects, consume so much time. The morals of the coun- 
try would be improved, and virtue uniting W"ith the labours of 
the representatives and with the official ministers of the law, 
would tend to perpetuate the honour and glory of the Govern- 
ment. But if this change in the Constitution be not made, 
and important appointments continue to devolve upon the re- 
presentatives in Congress, it requires no depth of thought, to 
be convinced, that corrwptian ivill he the order of the day ; 
and that, under the garb of conscientious sacrifice, to estab- 
lish precedents for tiie public good, evils of serious importance 
to the freedom and prosperity of the republic may arise. It 
is through this channel, that, the people may expect to be at- 
tacked in their constitutional sovereignty; and where tyranny 
may expect to spring up in some favourable emergency." In 
the same letter, he observes, "it is due to myself to practice 
upon tiie maxim I recommend to others." 

160. Now, was the General sincere when he wrote these 
sentiments ! They are a severe, because just, reprehension of 
his conduct. Had he a presentiment of his own course in the 
Presidential office ] Or has the prophecy, as in other cases, 
contributed to its fulfilment] Certain it is, that he appointed, 
during iiis administration, more members of Congress to office, 
than all his predecessors; having taken fifteen from the Sen- 
ate and twenty-six from the House of Representatives; and 
it is not less certain, that, in the latter body he has found 
greater subservience, to say the least, than has been display- 
ed towards any other President. 

161. There are, it seems, in the service of the United 
States, between forty and fifty thousand officers, dependent, 
directly or indirectly, upon executive favour; all of whom 



80 ELECTION OF GEJJ. JACKSON REFORM. 

were, formerly, deemed responsible to the country for the 
faithful performance of their duty; but who, by the new 
theory, as above set forth, enlarged and explained, by ihe 
President's Protest to the Senate, have become the mere tools 
of the presidential will. 

162. Let us take a case of illustration from Boston, which 
we might parallel in every seaport of the Union. Several 
inspectors of the customs were, there, removed by the newly 
appointed Collector, who had been an editor of a newspapei- 
devoted to the President. The gentlemen dismissed Vv'ere 
universally acknowledged to be faithful officers, good citizens, 
with large, dependent families. To one of them was ad- 
dressed the following ungentle note.' 

Boston Custom House, April 7, 1829. 
Sir — I have appointed another person to the office of In- 
spector, held by you. You will consider this your discharge 
from any further service in said office. 

David Henshaw. 
Mr. Ebenezer Clough. 

Mr. Clough, a sturdy old patriot, commented upon this 
transaction, in a public journal, thus: 

Messrs. Editors: I wish to ask, through the medium of 
your paper, if offices have been sold or bartered away for 
votes? Are officers to be turned out of office, to make room 
for these voters'? And must even subordinate officers be re- 
moved, to give place to these subordinate voters. Gracious 
Heaven ! (with reverence would I ask) what is our country 
coming tol Must a humble citizen, for only exercising the 
right of a freeman, which he is entitled to, by the laws of hia 
country, be discarded for so doing ] Is it possible, in a free 
country, like ours, that a man, for exercising the right of his 
conscience — which right his God and his country has en- 
joined on him, as a duty — is to be deprived of a living for so 
doing] If so, farewell Independence, and farewell Liberty! 
But let it be known to the whole world, if I die starving, I'll 
die a Yankee — that is to say, independent in principle, if not 
in purse. Ebenezer Clough, Ward No. 1. 

163. The above, comprehends a case of reward of a friend, 
of an editor, for services rendered. The following is one of 
the punishment of an enemy — of an editor, for opposing the 
apostle of reform. 



ELECTION OF OEN. JACKSON — REFORM. 81 

CiRCLEViLLE, (Oliio) April 25, 1829. 

"John Ludwig-, Esq. has received the appointment of Post 
Master, in Circleville, vice W. 13. Thrall, removed. 

" The reader will perceive, that, the editor of this paper 
has been removed from the othce of Post Master, at Circle- 
ville. In October last, he voted the ticket headed Jeremiah 
Morrow; for wiiich heretical act his otRcial services have 
been dispensed with, with just as little ceremony as were the 
lives of Arbuthnot and Ambrister. 

"Tiie recent demonstrations of the work of reform, most 
clearly evince the settled policy, on the part of those clothed 
with the vestment of authority, to exclude from the public 
service, all those who have not subscribed to the dominant 
faith. They illustrate, moreover, that the violent stru(>-n-le 
which has agitated the nation, for five years past, — disturb- 
ing the public confidence in the institutions of the country 
and interrupting social harmony throughout the land — has 
not been, on the part of the leaders and promoters of the un- 
natural experiment, a patriotic contest for principle; but a 
mercenary scrambling for ofMce, and tor pay. Powerful in- 
terests, in their nature uncongenial, were brought to a har- 
monious coalescence, in this common object. Professed at- 
tachment to a man, and the assumption of a name, have been 
held paramount to principle, or a conscientious discharge of 
duty. The motive and common bond of those who embarked 
against the cause of their country, and in opposition to the 
light of their reason, were to possess themselves of the com- 
fortable and lucrative places under the Government. The 
"task" is consummated; and the labourers are becoming 
clamorous for their wages." 

164. The correctness of these remarks, by the Ohio editor, 
is confirmed by the following note' which we submit without 
comment. 

War Department. 

Major Nourse — The chief Clerk of a department should, 
to his principal, stand in the relation of a confidential friend. 
Under this belief, I have appointed Dr. Randolph, of Virginia. 
I take leave to say, that since 1 have been in this department, 
nothing in relation to you has transpired, to which I could 
take the slightest objection; nor have 1 any to suggest. 

Very resnectfullv, J. H. Eaton. 

May 2, 1829. 



82 ELECTION OF GEN. JACKSON — REFORM. 

165. One case more from the papers of the day, will illus- 
trate the sense of the office seekers relative to the task of re- 
form. 

From the Pittsburg Gazette, of April 24, 1829. 

"A bargain! — It is well known that Mr. , of this city, 

and Capt. , of Washington county, are candidates for the 

appointment of Marshal for the Western District of Pennsyl- 
vania. Mr. , being most industrious, had far outnum- 
bered Capt, , in recommendations, though it was thought, 

from General Jackson's treatment of the latter, while here, 
that he would confer the office upon him. It seenjs, how- 
ever, that Captain is willing 

'To make assurance doubly sure 
And take a bend of fate.' 

For he has offered to purchase Mr. 's right, title, inter- 
est, and claim, and recommendation to the office, for a valuable 
consideration, in kind. This fact, and the manner of it, v.'e 
find thus recorded in the last Statesman: 

"He (Capt. ) wrote to Mr. , stating, in substance, 

as follows — 'Mr. , if you will withdraw your claims to 

the office of Marshal, and transfer your interest to me, I'll 
make over my niterest to you, and I'll put you on a track by 
Vv'hich you shall get the appointment of Postmaster at Pitts- 
burg.'' Mr. -, it seems, was not ready for such a bar- 
gain, and treated the overture with the contem^pt it merited." 

166. Yet another instance, to show the decency of the 
office seeker and office giver. Wm. F. Waterman gave as 
a toast, "Adams, Clay, and Co., may they be politically 
damned." Instead of sinking the political maniac, this toast 
gave him a passport to office, and he became Inspector of the 
Customs, at Pawtucket, Rhode . Island, in the place of Mr. 
Hunt, who was removed to make way for him. Mr. Hunt 
had held the office thirty years; one requiring peculiar abil- 
ity, for which he was admirably fitted. 

167. Upon this abuse of the appointing power, the justice 
of the following observations, from the Savannah Mercury, 
an administration journal, will, we think, be admitted by 
every disinterested and reflecting citizen : 

" When the w^hole patronage of the Governmeni shall be 
wielded, solely, with the view to reward the personal friends 
of the Executive, then may tlie patriot tremble for the safety 
of his country. When appointments to office shall be made, 
not for the purpose of rewarding public service, or engaging 



ELtCTION OF GEN. JACKSON — RElOll.M. 83 

m 

eminent talentd in the service of the state, but lor tiie pur- 
pose of renderin^ir tJiose who have united their influence in 
raisinj^ an individual to power, then may the patriot tremble 
lor tlie perpetuity of our institutions. But when tiie appli- 
cant for oflice shall iiinisolf no longer plead the value of his 
public services, the purity of his principles, or his capacity to 
discharg'c the duties of the office which he seeks — and boasts, 
only, tlic importance of his influence, in securing the election 
of the individual Chief Magistrate, tiien may wofear, that the 
body politic has become corrupt, and that the whole system 
is rotten to the heart. 

" It is plain, that, the Government can be administered in 
purity no longer than those who administer it continue to be 
actuated by pure and disinterested motives.. If a President 
of the United States, from the moment of his coming into 
oflice, use his power solely for the purpose of rewarding those 
who have placed him there, it is evident that the purity and 
freedom of elections would soon .be destroyed. Politician.^ 
would not seek to exalt the most upright, the most capable 
man to office — but him who would reward them most liberally. 

"It is with sucii apprehensions as these, that we have 
witnessed the late appointments of President Jackson. It 
would seem, as if he had inquired for no other merit in the 
applicant for office, than the merit of having helped him to 
the Presidency. He has not sought for talents : men noto- 
riously destitute of talents have been called to distinguished 
offices: lie has not looked for principles; men, of all princi- 
ples, and without principle, have Ibund fivour at his hands: 
He has not regarded previous public services; the grey bain's 
of the veteran have been thrust aside, to make room for tyros, 
whose names are new to the country: He has not regarded 
virtue or morality; he has removed officers of unsullied char- 
acter, and given their places to those wiiose lives have been 
a scandal to the age. In short, devotion to his interests 
seems to have been the only quality sought for, or valued. 
^Veil may we tremble at the future prospects of the country, 
when such is the course of an American President." 

168. But this duty of reform, imposed by *' public senti- 
ment,^^ disdained the trammels which the Constitution had 
provided to prevent e.Nxess. Though the Senate remained 
in session, approving the nominations made by the Presi- 
dent, until iiit(>rmed by him that he had no further nomina- 
tions to make, tJiey had scarcely adjourned, when several 
appointments were made without their advice and consent; 



84 ELECTIO>- OF GEN. J ACKSOK— REFORM. 

some of which had been determined on before the Senate ad- 
journed, though witiiheld from that body. 

This use of power to create vacancies, that the Presi- 
dent might fill them, may not be against the letter of the 
Constitution, but it is most hostile to its spirit. Extend the 
practice a little farther than it was here carried, extend it as 
far as the President has since carried it, and all the officers 
of the Government become the creatures of the President,^ 
alone, for a year at least. And in this respect, one of the 
plainest provisions of the Constitution, that requiring the ad- 
vice and consent of the Senate to appointments, has been vio- 
lated. Of this, also, more hereafter. 

169. The example of Mr. Jefierson has been unwarrant- 
ably cited to justify this party proscription. But his tolera- 
tion is especially and admirably contrasted with this system 
of persecution. In a letter to Mr. Gerry, of 29th March, 
1801, he says— 

"Officers who have been guilty of gross abuses of office, 
such as marshals, packing juries, &:c. I shall now remove, as 
my predecessor ouglit, in justice, to have done. The in- 
stances will he ftw and governed by strict rule, and not by 
party passion. The right of opinion shall suffer no inva- 
sion'frorn me. Those, who have acted well, have nothing to 
fear, however they may have difl'ered from me in opinion." 

170. His letter to Governor Hall, of Delaware, shows the 
firmness with which he maintained this pure intention, and 
throws into deep shade the inconsistency between General 
Jackson's professions and practice. Col. Allan McLane, fa- 
ther of the late Secretary of State, had been an active and 
zealous soldier of the Revolution; but he was, in 1602, quite 
as much distinguished for his activity and zeal as a federal 
partisan, and had rendered hiniself extremely obnoxious to 
the democratic party, in the State of Delaware. He held 
the office of collector of the customs, at Wilmington, from 
which his removal was solicited by a democratic republican 
meeting at Dover, and by the grand and general juries of the 
Circuit Court of the United States, held at that place. In 
reply to the letter of the Governor, covering remonstrances, 
Mr. Jefiferson said; (July 6, 1802.) 

"When I first came into the administration, complaints 
were exhibited against Col. McLane, and an inquiry imme- 
diately directed to be made into his conduct. Every opportu- 
nity which could be desired was given, on both sides, to the 
producing of testimony; and on a very full investigation, he 



ELECTION OF GEN. JACKSON — REFORM. 85 

was finally .-icquitted. He had a ri^ht to consider that ac- 
quittal as a bar to every thinj anterior, and certainly, accord- 
intj to sound principles, it must be so considered, 1 am per- 
suaded that the republicans vvlio have concurred in these ad- 
dresses would be as incapable of wishing me to do any thing 
wliich would bring- a just censure on the administration, as 1 
bliould be Irom yielding to such a wish. We have no inter- 
ests nor passions ditlbrcnt Irom our icllow citizens. We have 
the same object, the success of representative goverimient. 
The eyes of suffering humanity are fixed on us with anxiety 
as their only liope ; and on such a theatre, and for such a 
cause \\c must suppress all smaller passions and local consid- 
erations. The leaders of federalism say, that, man cannot be 
trusted with seir-government. We must not, by any depart- 
ure from principle, dishearten the mass of our fellow citizens, 
wiio have confided to us this interesting cause. If, since the 
date of the acquittal, Col. McLane has done any new act in- 
consistent with his duty as an otncer, or as an agent of the 
administration, this would be legitimate ground for new in- 
(juiry, into which I should consider myself as free to enter. 
No particular tact of this kind is charged in the addresses; 
but only that he is disagreeable to the citizens of the place. 
This would be among Ihe proper considerations on the ap- 
pointment of an officer, and ought before appointment to have 
weight; but after many years possession of an office, and an 
exact discharge nf its duties, removal for this reason would 
not be aj^proved by those beyond the pale of his unpopular- 
ilyr 

171. But the administration is not content by the abuse 
of the appointing power to disliearten the mass of their fel- 
low citizens who had committed to them the people's cause 
of self-government, but they mock this people, whilst in the 
very act of corruption, and in the enjoyment of the ill-gotten 
gains of their sins, by a parade of principle which by con- 
trast make their crimes most ikgrant. 'J'iius they do not 

ronipotnid for sins ihey nre inoiiuod to 
By daamins those, thoy have no mind to 

But witii an audacious hypocrisy of another sort, openly 
preach against the sins, which they as openly practice. Of 
this, the°following extract from the President's Message of 
December, 1830, is a disgusting proof. 
. "It was a leading objpct with the framcrs of the Constitu- 

8 



86 ELECTION OF GEN. JACKSON — REfOIlJI. 

tioa to keep as separate as possible the action of the Legisla- 
tive and Executive branches of the Government. To secure 
this object, nothing is more essential than to preserve the for- 
mer from the temptations of private interest, and, therefore, 
so to direct the patronage of the latter, as not to permit such 
temptations to be offered." * ''"'- * "The agent most like- 
ly to coiitravene this design of the Constitution is the Chief 
Magistrate. In order, particula-rly, that his appointment may, 
as far as possible, be placed beyond the reach of any improper' 
influences; in order that he may approach the solemn respon- 
sibilities of the highest office in the gift of a free people, un- 
committed to any other course, than the strict line of consti- 
tutional duty ; and that the securities for this independence 
may be rendered as strong as the nature of power and the 
weakness of its possessor will admit, I cannot too earnestly 
invite your attention, to the propriety of promoting such an 
amendment to the Constitution, as will render him ineligible 
after one term of service." 

Nothmg can more strongly illustrate the corruption of the 
Jackson administration than the preceding extract. The evils 
flowing from the abuse of povv^er are clearly perceived, yet 
deliberately pursued, whilst a remedy for the disease, which 
they are labouring to spread is proposed, which cannot be pre- 
pared, if seriously proposed to be prepared, until the patient 
has grievously suffered under insidious treatment. There is 
a remedy, however, which Congress can supply, by stripping 
the President of the power of removal. This leads us to con- 
sider the nature of that power, for which we will take a 
separate chapter. 



■ I 



CHAPTER VII. 

'VIEW OF THE PRESIDENTIAL POWER TO APPOINT TO, 
' AND REMOVE FROM, OFFICE. 

172. At the present day, in all governments not absolutely 
despotic, political power is distributed into three branches; 
Legislative, Judicial and Executive : Where thty arc blended, 
absolute despotism prevails. When the Legislative and Ex- 

l ecutive powers are nnited, there can be no liberty; because, 
the same persons may enact tyrannical laws and execute 
them in a tyrannical manner : Nor can there be liberty where 
the Legislative power is united with the Judicial; for the life 

1 and liberty of the citizen, is exposed to arbitrary control, and 
the law may be made for each and any occasion: Nor where 
the Judicial is blended with the Executive; for the Judge 
may modify his sentence, in its execution. 

173. These principles were duly apprehended by Ameri- 
can statesmen, when preparing the American Constitutions ; 
but they were not easily reduced to practice, by making the 
departments wholly distinct in their functions. In most of 
the State Governments the principle of separation was em- 
phatically declared, and in some, was laid down in unqualified 
terms; but in none, was tlic division fully preserved. The 
result of tlie experience of the country, upon a very extend- 
ed scale, is, that, for the assurance of the degree of separa- 
tion indispensable to freedom, the departments must be so 
blended, that each may check the assumption of power by the 
other. Power was, therefore, given to each department, by 
constitutional means and personal motives, to resist encroach- 
ments of the others; whilst care was taken to prevent either 

I from having an overruling influence on the others. 

174. These counter checks were supposed to have been 
applied in the Constitution of the United States. To restrain 
the legislative power, it was divided into two branches, and 
the assent of both made necessary to a legislative act; the 
Judges were made independent in their salaries, and in the 
tenure of their ofiices; and the Executive was armed with 
tke veto on the laws, and further strengthened by a qual- 
ified connection with the weaker branch of the legislature. 
No conception seems to have been formed of a case, in which 

I 87 



88 PRESIDENTIAL POWER OF APPOINTMENT, &C. 

the Executive and stronger branch of the Legislature might 
combine against the weaker, and no provision was made 
against it. ^ But circumstances have demonstrated, that, such 
combination may exist; and though it cannot compel the 
other branch to unite in declaratory laws, it rnay prevent it 
from applying remedial ones. 

175. We have spoken of the Legislative, Judicial and Ex- 
ecutive branches of Government, as if they had existence 
anterior to, and independent of, the Constitution. Such in- 
ference, may be, because it has been, drawn from the general- J 
ity of the terms used in the Constitution of the United States, ■ 
for the purpose of enlarging the executive power. The pri-^ 
mary articles of that instrument prescribe the organization 
and the powers of the three departments. The first declares, 
that, "all legislative power, herein granted, shall be vested in 

a Congress," &c. The second says, "The Executive power 
shall be vested in a President of tiie United States ot Amer- 
ica;" the third directs, that, "The Judicial power shall be 
vested in one Supreme Court," &c. It would be highly er- 
roneous to suppose, that, these terms gave all poicer, which 
might be deemed, Legislative, Executive or Judicial, to the 
several branches, because they are but descriptions of the 
officers to v/hom such powers were to be confided, and do not 
define the extent of the grant. The Constitution, when con- 
ferring power, proceeds, not, by general definition, but, by 
specific grant. If, it confers power in general, terms, it 
imposes limitations, and the grant and limitation must be con- 
strued together. The mere nomination, therefore, of a de- 
partment^ by the name of Legislative, Executive or Judicial, 
as a branch of the Government, does not confer any power; 
and we must look to the provisions of the Constitution, to 
learn what power it regards as Legislative, Executive and Ju- 
dicial, and what is conferred on the departments, respectively. 
None, seriously, contend that all Legislative power belongs 
to Congress — all Executive power to the President — all Ju- 
dicial power to the Courts of the United States. 

176. The Government of the United States being a crea- 
ture of limited powers, whose being, end and aim, are determin- 
ed by the Constitution, it follows, that it has no powers origi- ^ 
nating in other sources. Original political power, may be a ' 
comprehensible term in Governments founded on other than 
definite grants ; but in the United States, it is every where 
unknown, save in the body of the people. All the govern- 
ments, here, are limited governments. And no department. 



rRrSIDENTIAI. rOWER OF APPOINTMENT, &'.C. 89 

therefore, of any government, can, without usurpation, assume 
powers from any source, other than, or anterior to, the Con- 
stitution. 

177. There is, pcrliaps, nothing- more sing-ular in American 
politics, than the apprehension of legislative, and the dis- 
regard of e.x'ecutive, encroachment on the other depart- 
ments, prevailing in the Convention which formed the Federal 
Constitution. 'IMiat hody employed itself, principally, in rais- 
ing harriers against legislative invasion, presuming sutKcient 
restraint to have been imposed upon the Executive, by sub- 
jecting its appointnients, and its diplomatic power to be con- 
trolled by the Senate. The members of that Convention, and 
the statesmen wiio succeeded them, have certainly shown 
great sagacity, having foreseen and provided against, many 
of the perils of delegated authority; but they saw not all the 
means of abuse. They foresaw, clearly, that, the legislative 
might, openly and successfully, invade the executive power; 
but they did not foresee, that the executive could, covertly 
and successfully, sap and control, the legislative. Such 
power was known to have been assumed by the executive 
department of the British Government, which, through \U 
appointing and disbursing faculties, corruptly governed the 
Parliament; but the members of the Convention trusted to 
the restraint of the Senate upon the former, and to the re- 
sponsibility of our fiscal agents to the Congress, against the 
latter. Nor would they, perhaps, have trusted in vain, had 
not an unfortunate construction of the Constitution given to 
the President the uncontrolled power of removal of most of 
the agents of the people from otiice, with the flattering cor- 
ollary that they are his deputies and servants; and, had not 
the Executive discovered the means of making appointments 
without the advice, and even, against the consent, of the Sen- 
ate. This grievous fault, like to be grievously answered, is 
attributable to the confidence placed in the transcendent ex- 
cellence of the first President. Had any other, than Wash- 
ington, been proposed as first Chief ^.lagistrate, the Federal 
Convention, would, probably, have guarded further against 
executive usurpations; and the first Congress would have 
been more disposed to limit, than to enlarge, executive influ- 
ence. 

178. One must now smile, but sadly, at the confidence of 
the first Congress, in presidential honesty and discretion, in 
the use of the appointing power. So little did the majority 
of that Congress dread the abuse of this power, that, thev 

8* 



90 PRESIDENTIAL POWER OF APPOINTMENT, OIC. 

deemed it impossible that it should be employed for other than 
laudable and public ends. Yet, instructive history furnished 
them a precedent of abuse in a case strikingly analagous. 

179. In theory, the legislative and executive powers in 
the English Constitution are as distinct and independent 
as in the Constitution of the United States ; yet from 
the time of George I. and Sir Robert VValpole, the King 
swayed the boasted omipotence of the parliament, and, prac- 
tically, with some fevv exceptions, exercised the whole legis- 
lative power; tlie lords and commons, enacting, pro forma, 
into laws, the resolutions of the royal council. The power 
which broke and deformed the British Constitution, was execu- 
tive patronage corruptly employed, in appointments to othce, 
and in public disbursements. The means by which the change 
was effected, were, the purchase of voles, grants of fraudu- 
lent contracts, iniquitous acts in the influence of elections, 
irresponsible use of secret service money, and the prostitu- 
tion of the press ; all of which, there is too much reason to 
believe, may be employed in this country. 

180. We mav not accuse the Convention, of 1787, of hav- 
ing altogether overlooked this danger, though it did not pro- 
vide, efficiently, against it. It provided by the Constitution, 
that "no Senator or Representative shall, during the time for 
which he was elected, be appointed to any civil office under 
the authority of the United States, which sliall have been . 
created, or the emoluments whereof have been increased, 
during such time; and no person holding any office under the 
United States, shall be a men;ber of either House, during his 
continuance in office." This restriction does not affect half 
the cases of temptation to officers; and it has been narrowed 
by the practice of appointing members of Congress to diplo- 
matic stations. In our view, the office of a diplomatic agent 
is not perennial. It lives, changes form, and dies, at the 
breath of the President. At his will, a minister plenipoten- 
tiary, represents us, to-day, at St. James'; to-morrow, a c^ar^e 
d''affaires; and on the third day, we have no representative. 
The office is created for the special occasion, and every nom- 
ination is a distinct creation of the office; and, therefore, no 
member of Congress can be appointed to such an office, con- 
sistently, with the Constitution. To have relieved Congre.'-s 
from the influence of this power, no member should have 
been permitted to take office, during the period, at least, for 
which he was elected. 

181. To guard against treasury influence, the Constitution 



PRESIDENTIAL POWER OF APPOINTMENT, &LC 91 

forbids money to be taken from the treasury witliout appro- 
priation by law; and the statute provides, tl)at no member of 
Congress shall participate, in any contract with the United 
States; and that no contract shall be made by the secretaries, 
unless authorized by law, or luidcr an appropriation adequate 
to its fultihncnt; except certain contracis fur subsistence and 
clothino-, and contracts by quarter masters. 

182. In every respect, these provisions have been in vain. 
We have sliown how the executive power has been abused 
with Conn^ress, and we shall sec its abuse in the other cases 
hereafter: Of the effect of that power upon Congress, we 
shall also have an appropriate place to speak, 

183. Tiie power to appoint to office, is fully, and we think, 
wisely, given to the President. Responsibility for its exer- 
cise can be obtained, only, when it is in the hands of an indi- 
vidual; and liable, as we have, there, seen it, to perversion, 
intrigue, and corruption, these evils arc multiplied by the multi- 
plication of the members ofthe executive body. If the tenure of 
the office be independent ofthe appointing officer, m uch ofthe m- 
ducement to abuse that power is taken away. The appointee 
is a freeman, at liberty to exercise his own judgment in political 
affairs, and does not disfranchise himself by the acceptance of 
place. But, if the appointee be liable to removal, he is not only, 
irresistibly, tempted to purchase place, by subserviency, but to 
preserve it, by continued homage. It is, therefore, desirable, 
that the Constitution should have restrained the power of re- 
moval, in the hands ofthe President, or should have left it, more 
wisely, to the regulation ofthe Legislature. The latter, we 
think, has been done, as will be apparent from a review of 
the manner in which its exorcise came to the President. 

181. Tlie Constitution of the United States, consisting of 
fundamental rules, only, contains little else than general prin- 
ciples, whicli are necessarily subject to various and conflict- 
ing interpretations. Scarce a year has elapsed, since its 
adoption, in which some construction, or new application of 
principle, has not agitated the country. Such will, probably, 
continue the case, so long as due regard for political liberty 
excites a wholesome jealousy of constructive power. As this 
power must be exercised in subservience to prevalent circum- 
stances and opinions, and as these may prove deceptive, errors 
may arise, for which experience must furnish the corrective. 
If the sense of the Constitution be perfectly clear, and its op- 
eration prove mischievous, the sole remedy lies in the consti- 
tutional amendment of the instrument. But, when an evil 



92 PRESIDENTIAL POWER OF APPOINTMENT, (fec. 

practice results from the construction of the letter, it is the 
voice of experience teaching us to seek another interpretation. 
It is the extraordinary and peculiar circumstance, which Mr. 
Madison admits may arise, to change the construction, how- 
ever long received. The power to appoint to, and the power 
to remove from, office, may illustrate this distinction. Tlius, 
the power of the President to appoint to office, in the cases 
stated in the Constitution, however injurious it may prove, 
cannot be resumed, without an alteration of the Constitution, 
by the people. It is clearly and expressly given. But, the 
power to remove from office, is no where given in terms, but 
is derived, altogether, from implication. If it be grievous, it 
may be remedied by changing the construction. 

185. In the absence of every expression which might give 
this power, adherence to the letter of the Constitution, would 
make the tenure of every officer, that of good behaviour; since 
he could be removed, only, upon the judgment of the Senate, 
on impeachment. This opinion was sustained by some dis- 
tinguished members of the first Cono-ress. But the inconve- 
nience, as it regards many offices, is such, that it has not had 
many advocates. Three other opinions have been maintained. 
I. That the power to remove belongs, exclu.sively, to the Pres- 
ident: n. That it rests with the appointing power, consist- 
ing of the President and Senate: III. That it is a power 
necessary and proper, to carry into effect other powers, and 
being not otherwise delegated, is granted to the Congress, as 
a proper case for legislation. We will consider these in their 
order. The question came up for consideration, for the first 
time, in the first Congress, when about to establish the Exec- 
utive Departments. 

186. I. The power to remove from office, was claimed for 
the President alone, as incident to the power to appoint. It 
was admitted to be a dangerous one, but still convenient, 
necessary, and clearly a part of the executive power; all of 
v^'hich was vested in the President. Protection against its 
abuse, lay in the character of the Chief Magistrate; who it 
was to be presumed, would possess integrity, independence, 
and high talents, and would not pervert his power to the base 
purposes of ministering to his own resentments, or to party 
interests and intolerence ; parti-cularly, as the wanton re- 
moval of meritorious officers would be an impeachable of- 
fence. It was further urged, that being responsible for all 
the officers of the executive department, they must be re- 
movable at his pleasure; and that, being required by the 



PRESIDENTIAL POWER OF APPOINTMENT, &C. 93 

Constitution to take care tliat the laws be fHithfully executed 
it was indispensable that all executive othcers sliould depend 
upon him. 

187. It was replied, tiiat, it was an assumption wholly- 
gratuitous, to say, the power to remove was incident to the 
power to appoint; the one beino- readily separable from the 
other, as was apparent, by the Constitution ilsclti under which 
the President and Judges were appointable by one power, and 
removable by another; by the applicability of impeachnient 
tor removal, in all cases; and by the assignment of the power 
of removal to other than the persons who appoint, in various 
manners, under the State Legislatures: That, the power to 
remove, could not be deemed, exclusively, an executive 
power, since, even the power to appoint was exercised by the 
State Legislatures; and Congress might vest it in certain 
cases, in the judiciary, under the Federal Constitution: That, 
if it were an executive power, it must be given by the Con- 
stitution, since no department possessed any power not de- 
rived from that instrument, and whether it were so derived, 
was the matter at issue: That, if the removing power were 
incident to the appointing power, it did not pertain to the 
President alone, as the appointing power was in him and the 
Senate, conjointly: That,' hii^ory forbade us to presume, 
the incorruptibility of any individual, however exalted; that 
he would not aim to increase his power, or that he would 
be superior to the evil passions common to our nature: That, 
the responsibility imputed to the President, was ideal; he 
was not punishable for the acts of any of his appointees; and 
even the responsibility for their appointment was divided with 
the Senate; that if responsibility rested on the power to re- 
move, that power being denied, the responsibility ceased : 
That, the duty to superintend the execution of the laws, was 
to be performed as all other executive duties, by means sup- 
plied by the Constitution ; and the averment that this was a 
constitutional mean, was but a begging of the question. 

188. II. It was contended, that, if the power to remove, were 
incident to that of appointment, it vested in the President 
and Senate, as the President alone could only nominate; to 
appoint, required the advice and consent of the Senate. 
This view was sustained by the Federalist, (No. 77.) 

It was also contended, that, not only was there no expres- 
sion in the Constitution giving the President the power of re- 
moval from office, but that the contrary is strongly implied; 
for it i3 said, that, Congress may establish offices by law, and 



94 PRESIDENTIAL POWER OF APPOINTMENT, &C. 

vest the appoiiitmerit, and consequently the removal in the 
President alone, in the courts of law, or heads of depart- 
ments; showing that Congress was not at liberty to make any 
alteration, by law, in the mode of appointing superior offi- 
cers; and, consequently, not at liberty to alter the man- 
ner of removal: That, the Senate was a permanent body, 
^0 constructed as to give durability to public measures ; that 
permanency was designed and desired in the magistracy, and, 
therefore, the Senate was combined in the appointment to 
office, and should be, in the removal. For, if the President 
alone have the power of removal, he may, at any time, de- 
stroy whatever has been done. Such a principle would be 
destructive of the intention of the Constitution, expressed by 
giving a participation in the power of appointment to the 
Senate; and would, also, subvert the clause, which gives to 
that body the sole power of trying impeachments; because,^ 
the President ma}^ remove the officer, in order to screen him 
from the effects of their judgment or impeachment. 

189. It was objected, that the Constitution no more gave 
the power of removal to the President and Senate, than to 
the President alone; that, if the appointing power were in 
them, still it must be determined, that the removing power 
was incident to the appointing power : That, to require the 
concurrence of the President and Senate, in the removal of 
an officer, was higldy inexpedient — for that, in all cases of 
removal, the President must accuse to the Senate; and every 
question of removal might become a trial of the accuser, as , 
well as of the accused; that, the dignity and usefulness of 
the President must necessarily be, in either case, diminished; 
and that such joint power could be conveniently exercised, 
only, by the constant session of the Senate ; as cases might 
arise, that would require action, before the Senate could be 
assembled. 

190. III. A third party contended; That the case was pro- 
vided for in the Constitution; the 18th clause. Sec. 8, Art 1, 
giving Congress power to make all laws which shall be neces- 
sary and proper for carrying into execution the powers grant- 
ed by the Constitution, and thereby vested in the Government 
of the United States, or any department or office thereof: 
That, the necessity of the power of removal, otherwise than 
by impeachment, was universally admitted : That, the power 
of creating offices is given to the Legislature, which under 
this grant may determine their organization, affix the tenure, 
and declare the control; may provide, that, the office be 



PRLSIDE.VriAL POWER OF APPOIMMKNT, tVc. 96 

held for any term of years, ami that the incumbent be re- 
movable by the President, the President and ^ienate, the 
Legislature, or otherwise: That, Congress might adapt this 
power to all cases; giving it to the President, absolutely, 
where absolute and instantaneous control was necessary over 
the agent; as in the case of a diplomatic mniister; limiting 
it to suspension, only, where tiuio and circumstances would 
admit of due inquiry, into the propriety of removals; or vest- 
ing it, in proper cases, absolutely, or qualifiedly, in lieads of 
departments or other otliccrs: That, under this construction, it 
would not be necessary to concede the dangerous ground, 
that, the President possessed all executive power, and that 
being resj)onsible for the conduct of ail executive officers, 
held, the threads of their destiny in his hands, to clip at plea- 
sure : Tiiat, if the power of removal be granted by the Con- 
stitution, as seemed to be admitted on all hands, and was not 
given to the President, nor to the President and the Senate, 
it must vest in the Legislature, consistimr of tlie House of 
Representatives, the Senate and the President; it being the 
very essence of legislative power to create officers, to pre- 
scribe their duties, to fix their tenure, and to determine what 
kind and degree of malversation shall be sufficient ground for 
disuiissal from office. 

191. This construction, which seems to us the only sound 
one, was, we think, feebly opposed. It was alleged, that this 
was a case omitted in, or provided for, by the Constitution ; 
and that, in either view, the legislature had nothing what- 
ever to do with it. If it w'ere omitted, Congress by attempt- 
ing to supply the power would amend the Constitution; which 
it had no right to do in this mode. But tliis argument, would 
deprive Congress of all the powers iiecessury unci proper to 
carry the Constitution into effect. If it were provided for, 
Congrefes ought not to legislate upon that, which w'as already 
settled by the Constitution. But, if the power v.-ere given 
by the Constitution, the difnculty lay in determining to what 
department it was given. 

192. At the time this question came up for decision, no ex- 
perience could have been had, upon it, in the General, or 
State, Governments. In the Constitution of osic of the latter, 
at least, and perhaps in others, expressions similar to those of 
the Constitution of the United States occur. 

193. By the Constitution of Pennsylvania, "The Supreme 
Executive power of the Commonwealth shall be vetted in the 

j Governor;" "who shall appoint all officers whose off.ces arc 



96 PRESIDENTIAL TOAVER OF ArPOIKTMENT, &C. 

established by the Constitution or skall be established by law, 
and whose appointments are not by the Constitution otherwise 
provided for." Now, these provisions present a stronger 
case in favour of the Executive, than those of the Constitu- 
tion of the United States; inasmuch, as under the latter hi- 
strument, the legislature is expressly empowered to " vest 
the appointment of such inferior officers as they think proper, 
in the President, alone, in the courts of lav/, or in the heads 
of departments." 

Under the Constitution of Pennsylvania, by construction 
cilone, the Governor is holden to possess the right of removal 
from office; and in practice, the commissions of all officers 
holden at his will, are deemed to expire with his term of 
office; or at least, to require the authority of the uew Gover- 
nor, which is usually given by proclamation, to continue them 
in force; and a new commission is, we believe, issued tor 
every such officer, by every new Governor, if not by every 
Governor upon re-election. The consequence of this is, a 
perpetual contest of parties for the possession of the instrv- 
ment of appointment; the Governor being, commonly, we 
might say almost without exception, the mere tool of the par- 
ty, that selects him; w^ithout discretion and without dignity; 
swayed with regard to the appointments of each county, not 
by the fitness of the candidates, but the recommendation of 
liis partisans; and the officers selected, perfectly conusant of 
the quality which determined their appointments, are the 
humblest slaves of the Governor, so long as he is the candi- ' 
date of the dominant party. At every change of the Exccu- ■ 
live, especially if such change be the consequence of a change • 
of party power, the scramble for offxces, the paltry intrigues, 
of which the appointor and the appointee are parties, are most 
shameful and disgusting. Yet, ivhenever the Legislature 
deems proper, it takes away from the Executive the power of 
removal, or qualifies it with conditions. 

Thus, of the great offices of State, to which the Governor 
by the Constitution appoints, the Legislature has modified the 
tenure, and has taken to itself tlie power of removal. In 
minor offices, they have also taken from the Governor, or 
have qualified, the power of removal. And thus, they have 
conclusively shovv-n, that neither by the power to appoint, nor 
by the duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, 
which is also imposed upon him, is the power to remove from 
office, under a grant similar to that given by the Constitution 
of the United States, exclusively and inseparably, vested in 



PRESIDENTIAL POWER OF APPOIM MEIST, (tc. 97 



the Executive. This is not a conclusive argjument, \vc ail- 
(iiit, against the construction given to t[ie Constitution of tlie 
United Stales; but it is high presumptive evidence that a 
different construction may be safely adopted. 
• 101. Still, the debate on this subjsct ended in Congress, in 
the House of Representatives, and in tlie Senate, in the lat- 
ter body, by the casting rote of the Vice President, the eiaer 
Adams, by the recognition of the power of the President to 
remove from oflice," all persons holding appointments from 
him. This conclusion, which fortunately is not binding upon 
the present or a future Congress, was attained under decep- 
. tivc circumstances and erroneous opinions. All parties were 
conscious of the importance of the subject before them. 
Those who denied the power, seem also to have had a pro- 
phetic view of the future; whilst tiiose who supported it, 
, professed to believe, that the halcyon present would nevei 
change, and that all future Presidents would be Washingtons. 
195. The former averred, that they were about to declare 
a power in tl)c President, which miglit be, thereafter, greatly 
abused: That, the country was not always to expect a Chief 
Mao-islrate, in whom it could place such entire confidence as 
in \Vashington, and that it ought, therefore, to look forward 
to a period, when this power might be in the hands of an am- 
bitious man, who might apply it to dangerous purposes; — who 
might from caprice remove the most worthy man from office ; 
whose will would be the only tenure, by which office would 
_be held, and when, consequently, every officer w'ould become 
■ the dependent, the abject slave of the President, and when 
" men of reputation and honour would shun office as they would 
the degradation of slavery. But the case, they said, might 
also be^looked at in another aspect. The removal might be 
made by a President, improperly, though without malicious 
motives. He might have about him, men, who were envious 
of the honours and emoluments of persons in office, men, who 
might, even use him as an instrument to effect sinister pur- 
poses, and who might insinuate suspicions into his honest 
breast, and thus produce the removal of incumbents who stood 
in their wav. 

They pre'dicted, that, the President would, by these means, 
obtain tlie control and disposition of the Treasury: That, the 
Constitution gave him the command of the military, and that 
with the head of the Treasury Department at his mercy, he 
w^ould soon be master of the liberties of the country: That, 
if he desired to establish an arbitrarv authority, and found the 

9 



98 PRESIDENTIAL POWER OF APPOIxNTMENT, 6lC, 

Secretary of the Treasury not inclined to second his endea- 
vours, he would remove him, and appoint another with prin- 
ciples more congenial to his own. The bill recognizing the 
authority was declared to contain the seeds of royal preroga- 
tive; and it was argued, tliat if the Chief Magistrate n)igbt 
take a man away from the head of a department, without as- 
signing any reason, he might as well be invested with pow- 
er, on certain occasions, to take away his life. This we have 
found to be prophecy. 

196. Tne partisans of executive pov/er denied these dan- 
gers. So diiferently did they consider the nature of othce 
from that assigned to it at the present day, that they deemed 
it even impossible to conceive of tlie renjoval of incumbents, 
for other causes than the want of capacity or of integrity. 
It is amusing and yet painful to contrast the opinions of tiie 
influential men of that day with those of the Jackson men of 
this; and perhaps nothing can show more, how widely we are 
departing from the original sense of the Constitution. So tar 
from considering the offices of the nation "spoils of victory," 
to animate every needy and unthrifty partisan to combat, they 
ran almost to the contrary extreme, and were disposed to view 
offices as the property of the incumbents, whilst they were 
fulfilled with ability and faithfulness. So far from conceiving 
that men were removable for a difference of opinion, on po- 
litical subjects, from the appointing officer, they recognized 
no other causes of removal, than treason, bribery, or other 
high crimes and misdemeanors. So far from apprehending, 
that a President could ever exist, who would delight in caus- 
ing a "rotation in office," they dreaded, that from his reluc- 
tance to perform an ungrateful duty, more injury would arise 
from not removing evil officers, than from displacing good 
ones: and so far from supposing, that the first magistrate 
of the nation, the chosen of twelve millions of freemen, would 
carry to the executive chair a disposition to reward his 
friends, that is, his partisans, and 'punish his enemies, that 
is, his opponents at the polls, by the distribution of office, that 
they held him alike impeachable, for continuing an unworthy 
man in office, and the removal of a worthy man from office. 

197. The decision on this subject, forms the most extraor- 
dinary case in the history of the Government — a case of 
power conferred, by implication, on the Executive, by the as- 
sent of a bare majority in Congress, which has not been fre- 
quently questioned. Even the most jealous opponents of 
constructive power, have slumbered over this vast stretch of 



PRESIDENTIAL POWJ'.a OF AI'POINTMKNT, SlC. 99 

authority. But for this acquiescence, there is a satisfactory 
explanation. The evils of the power were not apparent, and 
were presumed not to exist. Until the advent of Jacksonisni, 
the power had been, rarely, exercised, and only in cases of 
obvious propriety. During ibriy years, the removal of civil 
officers, so far as can be ascertained, from the public records, 
amounte<l to seventy-three, only — less than an average of 
two per annum. In the twelve years of the administration 
of Washington and the first Adams, there were twenty-two 
removals. Mr. Jefferson came into office when party leel- 
ings, greatly excited, might have stimulated and extenuated 
i vindictive measures against sturdy adversaries, in possession 
of all the public offices. Some of these opponents, especially. 
Marshals and District Attornies, were odious for their over 
zeal in enforcing the obnoxious sedition law; others had been 
commissioned in the last moments of his predecessor, and their 
appointment indecorously taken from him; yet, under all 
these exciting circumstances, the whole number of removals, 
by Mr. Jelferson, in eight years, was thirty-six, only ; less 
than five per annum. Mr. Madison, who held the President 
liable to impeachment, for the retention of an evil, and lor the 
dismissal of a good, officer, in eight years, removed five civil 
officers — Mr. Monroe nine — and Mr. Adams, the reviled 
. John Quincy Adams, in four years, two only. Of the removals 
made by General .lackson, and their cause, \\q have, already, 
abundantly spoken. 

198. Vv'e have dwelt on this power of removal, from the 
conviction, that it is the weak place of the Government; that 
a corrupt use of it, will, if long tolerated, put the liberties of 
the country at the mercy of the Executive. By it, a sub- 
servient Congress may be obtained ; and though the forms of 
' the Government may be preserved, a tyranny as effectual a8 
if sustained by armed cohorts, will be established. But this 
dangerous executive power, derived by implication, and by 
legislation, may be removed by an act of Congress — by a vo- 
lition of the people. The power of removal from office is 
necessary to the Government, but it may, it must, be modi- 
fied into a shape less dangerous to the people. Their inter- 
ests furnish the true, the only true, rule of right in politics; 
and whilst the people are free, those interests will, always, 
sooner or later, be pursued. Man, in the mass, as in the in- 
dividual, is liable to err. Under deceptive lights, the people 
may mistake their welfare; but experience is ever at hand, 
with her correctives, and happy are the wanderers, if her 
lessons be not too dearly purchased. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

CONGRESSIONAL MESSAGE OF 1829. DE V^ELOJlffiEMT OP 
THE POLICY OF THE JACKSON ADMINISTRATION. 

199. The foreign policy of our Government has a steadi- 
ness, resulting from the liberality and impartiality of the 
United States towards other nations, and from our freedom 
from foreign interests and foreign influence, which leaves lit- 
tle scope for executive experiment. In relation to it, there- 
fore, the new administration could pursue no other course, 
than that of its predecessors prescribed by existing conven- 
tions, and the principles which had induced them. Happily, 
there was, here, little room for novelties, or for acquiring new 
powers to the Executive. 

200. But, such v/as not the fortunate condition of our in- 
ternal relations. A half century had not sufficed to settle, 
firmly, our policy in the exercise of some of the most import- 
ant functions of the Government. Although a majority of 
the people had concurred in views relating to them, they 
were opposed by small, but active minorities, whose mem- 
bers were the warmest friends of the President,^ and whose 
opinions, coinciding with his designs, he was disposed to 
support. 

201. The first raessag-e of the President to Congress, in 
1829, opened all the sources of dissention in the country; 
bringing up for consideration, not only the vexatious ques- 
tions which had agitated it for years, but introducing new 
and most startling objects for discussion. Thus lie urged upon 
Cono-ress, 

1. A change of the constitutional mode of electing the 
President and Vice President: 

2. The adoption and legitimation of the maxim of " Rota- 
tion in office:" 

3. The reduction of the Tariff" established for the protec- 
tion of domestic industry: 

4. The abandonment of the system of internal improve- 
ments: 

5. The subversion of the settled policy of the country, in 
relation to the Indian tribes, with the forfeiture of the pledged 
faith of the nation : 

100 



MESSAGE OF 1829 — POLICY OF THE ADMINISTRATION. 101 

6. The substitution of a Government Bank, for the Bank 

of the United Slates. 

We shall olfer some remarks upon each of these propositions. 

202. I. The proposed amendment to the Constitution, pro- 
vidinof for the election of the President and Vice President, 
m all cases, immediately, by the people, and for hmiting the 
service of tlie incumbent to one term of tour or six years, and 
for disqualifyinor for office, the representatives in Congress, 
on whom the election may have devolved, had been discussed, 
but not approved, by the preceding Congress. The proposi- 
tion is obnoxious to the general objection of the impolicy of 
tampering with, and thereby bringing into disrespect, so rev- 
erend an instrument as the Constitution of the country. The 
present mode of election, like other portions of the Constitu- 
tion, was the result of the campromise of variant opinions; 
and there is little probability that any other mode would re- 
ceive the necessary approbation of the people. If that mode 
were really a grievance, the people would have, through the 
State Legislatures, so, decidedly declared it. The probability 
is, that, hereafter, there will be, commonly, several candi- 
dates tor these high offices; and if the election is to be re- 
turned to the people, until some one candidate shall have a 
majority of their voices, that two years, at least, perhaps more, 
out of every four, will be spent in the most dangerou.'; politi- 
cal agitation. 

But there is the best reason to believe that the propo- 
sition was insincerely made; with the view, only, to pro- 
pitiate popular favour, by pretention to great deference for 
the popular will — a course so customary in the pursuit of 
unlawful power, that, every semblance to it, is subject to the 
most violent suspicion. For, the President might have de- 
monstrated his sincerity, by setting a precedent, on such por- 
tions of his proposition as were in his power. The precedent 
made by Mr. Jefferson, virtually limited the presidential term 
to eight years. General Jackson, by his example, might have 
limited it to four. But so far from this, when, in 1831, the 
proposed amendment was again under consideration, and 
there appeared some probability of its favourable reception, 
those who introduced the proposition into the House, and 
zealously maintained it, were denounced, although original 
Jackson men, as "enemies to the administration," and "sel- 
fish intriguers." The cause of this denunciation was, sim- 
ply, that the friends of the proposition, aye, and friends of the 
President, too, were disposed to take him at his word, and 
9* 



102 MESSAGE 01 1829 — POLICY OF THE ADMINISTRATION. 

make the amendment operate upon him, excluding- him from ' 
a second term of service. "Must we," cried the Globe, the 
President's organ, " stand silently by, and see Faction, by 
legerdemain, thrust from the list of candidates, a man whom 
it cannot beat by open opposition? Must principle be vio- 
lated, not in the passage of an usual law, but in an important 
change of our Constitution, to prevent the people from testi- 
fying their approbation of the course pursued by a President 
whom they elected]" And that the true men of the party, 
whose devotion to the chief was not to be cooled by any in- 
consistency, might not be led astray, the Globe declared it- 
self authorized to announce that the President would serve 
another term, if re-elected. 

203. II. It cannot be doubted that the recommendation of' 
rotation in office, was also intended, merely for effect with! 
Jackson partisans, being only a proclamation of the Presi- 
dent's favour towards them. The act of 15th May, 1820, re- 
quiring that certain officers, therein mentioned, should be ap- 
pointed, for four years, but should be removable at the plea- 
sure of the President, was designed, by a short and limited 
tenure, to remind incumbents of their dependent condition,^ 
and to stimulate them to faithfulness; and might, with pro- 
priety, be extended with the same view, but, certainly, not,-' 
with the design to make a change, when the conduct of the' 
officers was unimpeachable. The act did not secure the in- 
cumbent, however worthy, in the enjoyment of office, for the 
designated term; nor was it necessary to effect his removal; 
for among the first abuses of power by the new administra- 
tion, was the removal of officers who had been recently ap- 
pointed for four years. The utility of the maxim of rotation^ 
in office was found only in relation to the enemies of the ad- 
ministration. It was not applied to its friends. They havej 
been continued, where faithful and serviceable, to their party,' 
invariably, for a second term; thus showing, that, there was 
no honesty in this pretence of reform. 

204. III. The protection of domestic manufactures by a tariff of ' 
duties, was the most cherished measure of at least eighteen 
States of the Union. But it was most odious to the remain- 
der, whose suffi-age was indispensable to the administration. 
To deny the constitutionality of this protection would havej 
estranged the great majority; but to recognize that right, and] 
to question the expediency and extent of its exercise, might 
propitiate the minority, and not offend the majority, irrecon-j 
cileably. The President therefore, recommended a revisioi 



MESS.VGE OF 1829 — POLICY OF THE ADMINISTRATION. 103 

of the tariff and a reduction of the duties, which had been, 
with great dilBculty, settled, at tlie proceeding session of Con- 
gress. In this, he violated tiie most important principle which 
he had himself laid down, in relation to the subject, and 
which, in the followini^ words, condemned his course. "Fre- 
quent leorislation in regard to any branch of industry, affect- 
ing its value, and by which its capiial may be transferred to 
new channels, must always be productive of hazardous specu- 
lation and loss." 

Still, the same policy was urged in the Message of Decem- 
ber, 1830; where, admitting the question of constitutionality 
to be settled, he observed, " the present tariff taxes some of 
the comforts of life unnecessarily high; it undertakes to pro- 
»ct interests too local and minute to justify a general exac- 
ion, and it also attempts to enforce some kind of manufac- 
tures, for which the country is not ripe." This denunciation 
was followed by a recommendation of review, which had for 
ts object, the destruction of the tariff system, by detail. The 
Uommittee of Manufactures of the House of Representatives 
reported, that any change in the provisions of the Tariff at 
his time, would spread alarm among the great interests of 
)ur country, shake confidence in the plighted faith of govern- 
ment, destroy the supposed well founded hopes of millions of 
>ur fellow citizens, reduce them to penury, and expose the 
«rhole country to the dangers of a most selfish policy, which 
night be adopted by foreign nations. 

I 205. IV. The power to appropriate the funds levied by the 
lation, as we have seen, is limited only, by the measures for 
;ommon defence and promoting the general welfare. The 
Jonstitutionality of this power, though violently contested by 
L portion of the Southern population, was more generally ad- 
nitted, than the power over domestic industry by the tariff. 
iBut, there was some diversity of opinion in the majority, as to 
the proper manner of its exercise. It had been applied, how- 
5ver, in every form. Millions had been appropriated for the 
mrchase of Louisiana and Florida, thousands to canals and 
oads, and hundreds to the repair of piers and clearing creeks. 
n the Message of 1829, the President does not question the 
ight of the General Government to make appropriations for 
nternal improvements, nor does ho deny the expediency of 
heir exercise. "Every member of the Union," he says, "in 
>eace and in war, will be benefited by the improvement of 
nland navigation, and the construction of high^vavs in the 
leveral States." But in recommending its employment so as 



104 MESSAGE OF 1829 POLICY OF THE ADMINISTRATION. 

to produce harmony in the legislative councils, lie propose 
the distribution of the surplus revenue among the States ii 
proportion to their representation — a mode, deemed by manyjj 
very many, the most offensive to public morals, and dangei 
ous to State sovereignty. 

206. Several bills for internal improvement, passed Cor 
gress towards the close of the session" of 1829-1830. AmonjJ 
which, were those authorizing subscriptions to the stocks, rt 
spectively, of the Maysville road, the Fredericktown an<! 
Washington road, and the Louisville canal, and a fourth, pn 
viding tor various improvements in rivers, harbours, &c. Th^ 
iirst passed the House of Representatives, by a vote of 1( 
to 95; the second, by a vote of 74 to 39; the third, by a vote 
of 80 to 37 ; and the last, by a vote of 95 to 44. Upon the tw< 
first, thePresident put his veto. His objections are given in hi^ 
message on the bill relating to the Maysville road. The twi 
last he retained, for further consideration, alleo-ingf as a reasoi 
the adjournment of Congress; but disapproving, he returni 
ed them, with his objections, at the next session. We musf 
not fail to remark, that the last bills had passed by a majority 
of more than two-thirds of the House, and would have be 
come laws, had they been returned, in season. 

The Maysville road message chides Congress, for not hav- 
ing regarded the opinions of the President relative to Inter- '' 
rial Improvements, as expressed in the December message, 
and finds an apology for the rejection of the bill, in the fact,' 
that it was passed with a knowledge of his views on the ^ 
(juestion. We cannot see, that Congress was, in truth, ob-' 
noxious to this reproof, supposing the President, authorized 
to give it; for though he told them, that the "method hither- 
to adopted had been deprecated as an infraction of the Con- 
stitution, by many of our citizens, while by others it had been 
viewed as inexpedient, and that all felt that it had been em- 
ployed at the expense of harmony in the legislative councils," 
they were not bound to cliange their course, after twentv- 
five years of practice, nor to resort to a mode, which had been 
condemned in the Senate. Had the President frankly de- 
clared, that he had constitutional doubts as to the power of 
appropriation for internal improvements, he might, Vv'ith some 
show of justice, have reprehended the pertinacity of tiie ma- 
jority of Congress, the subordinates of the party, which 
imposed upon him the necessity of rejection. 

He now, for the first time, took distinct and separate 



MESSAGE OF 1829 POLICY OF THE ADMINISTRATION. 105 

ground upon this subject; and we gather that the following' 
are iiis views in relation to it. 

1. Tiie General Government has not constitutional power; 
to construct or promote internal improvements, without the 
assent of the States, if jurisdiction over the soil be necessary- 
tor their preservation and use: 

2. Congress may appropriate money for internal improve- 
ments, authorized by a State, if the object be promotive of 
the general vvelliire: 

.*1 Tiie power so to appropriate money, originally doubtful, 
has been confirmed by the practice of every administration, 
, and the continued acquiescence of the people: 

4. This restriction on the power to construct, diminishes 
:its efficiency, because of the difficulty to obtain the co-opera- 
tion of the States: 

j 5. For this reason, and that the national debt might be 
I more promptly paid, that was an inauspicious time for inter- 
nal improvement: And, to render a doubtful power more 
iclear, as well as to provide for its more equitable execution, 
|the Constitution should be amended, so as to regulate the ob- 
jject, the manner and the amount, of the appropriation. 
j 207. The corollary of these positions is, that, until ccn- 
itrolled by constitutional rule, the President, becomes the 
i judge of the 7mf?o?ia/i/?/ of every proposed improvement; — 
|if he choose to consider it as tending to the general welfare, 
j(which choice the political quality of the applicants would 
greatly incline) he would sanction it. The power which this 
;construction creates for the President and the subserviency 
.which it may produce among petitioners for the favour of the 
Government to their projects, was no doubt seen and duly 
appreciated. 

j 208. The message on the Maysville road had, however, 
|inother aspect. To assure the re-election of the President 
and the domination of the party, the concurrence of the South 
:was necessary. To preserve this, it was also necessary, that 
ji disposition to overthrow or contract the American System 
Ishould be exhibited. The encouragement, therefore, of do- 
Imestic manufactures was also placed upon their " direction to 
national ends ;"" giving the South to understand, that, this 
ipower, whose existence is controlled by the President, might 
(be modified, and the friends of national industry cause to be- 
jlieve, that their best hope for protection lay in propitiating 
[lim. We are fully warranted in this statement of the de- 
sign of I he veto, by the following extract from the Globe of 

i 



106 MESSAGE OF 1829 — POLICY OF THE ADMINISTRATION. 

tke 23J of February, 1831, when commenting- upon the ef-- 
forts of Mr. Calhoun's friends in opposition to the re-elections 
of General Jackson. 

" Bat, anon, came the nominations in Pennsylvania and i 
New York. These were thunderbolts to the intriguers, 
The veto followed, which y rostrated all hopes from the^, 
South." 

209. Had the veto power been applied, upon principles- 
connected with the public Vv'eal — upon almost any other prin- 
ciple, than the nursing of party, it would have been used more 
consistently; and several bills which received the President's 
sanction, would have been rejected. He approved bills for 
removing obstructions from the mouths of rivers — making 
roads — clearing harbours — erecting fortifications and light- 
houses — appropriating to these purposes the vast sum of 
82,235,963. To render his inconsistency the more striking, 
he sanctioned an. appropriation for improving the Conneaut, a 
petty creek of Lake Erie, in the N. E. angle of the State of 
Ohio, which is navigable only for about seven miles; holding 
this for a national object, whilst he rejected the improvement 
of a great thoroughfare, on which the mail is carried, for 
eight or ten States and territories, as local and unimportant. 
And, be it also observed, that, he had, during his last short 
service in the United States Senate, in 1285, voted, affirm- 
atively, on resolutions involving the whole power of inter- 
nal improvement, in all its objectionable modes. Tims, he 
had voted in favour of the bill " to procure the necessary sur- 
veys, plans, and estimates, on the subject of roads and ca- 
nals;" — for the bill '• to improve the navigation of the Ohio 
and Mississippi rivers;" — and tor the bill "authorizing a sub- 
scription of stock to the Delaware and Chesapeake Canal." 
This last vote, however, he has since repented ; alleging in 
his message of December 1830, '' that positive experience, 
and a more thorough consideration of the subject, had con- 
vinced him of the impropriety or inexpediency of such invest- 
ments." 

Thus, the veto message is wholly irreconcilable with the 
previous votes and opinions of General Jackson ; and we might 
conclude, were it not the offspring of his lust for power, that, 
it expressed not his, but the, opinions of his advisers — of his 
cabinet — especially of Mr. Van Buren, his designated successor; 
whose favourite bat-policy of non-committal and false pro- 
fessions of friendliness, were more fatal to public improvements, 
than the avowed enmity of other members. 



MESSAGE OF 18xJy — POLICY OF THE ADMIM.SI RATION. 107 

210. The tullowing- passag-c, from the speech of an emi- 
nent defender of the American SSysteni, is alike descriptive 
of the message and the man; not of tiic President, but of 
him who liolds in his hands the strings which move the pup- 
pets of the administration. 

"I have read that paper, again and again, and I never can 

)eruse it, without tiiinking of diplomacy, and the name of 

Talleyrand, Talleyrand, Talleyrand, perpetually, recurring 

o my mind. It seems to have been written in tiie spirit of 

m accommodating soul, who being determined to have fair 

weather, in any contingency, was equally ready to cry out, 

jood Lord, good Devil. Are you for Internal Improvements! 

Vou may extract from the message texts enough to support 

our opinion. Are you against them! The message sup- 

)lies you with abundant authority to support your views. Do 

ou think that a long and uninterrupted current of concurring 

Iccisions ought to settle the question of a controverted power ? 

So the authors of the message affect to believe. But, ought 

my precedents, however numerous, ^o be allowed to estab- 

ish a doubtful power? The mcssagVagrees with him who 

hinks not." ^/ 

211. The views, however, of the administration are more 

uUy developed in the message of the President to Congress, 

>f the 7th December, 1830, when he returned the retained 

tills; namely, " An act for making appropriations for build- 

iv^ light houses, light boats, beacons, and monuments, placing 

)uoys, and for improving harbours, and directing surveys," 

nd '* An act to authorize a subscription for stock in the Louis- 

ille and Portland Canal Company." In relation to the former, 

le admits the constitutionality of the appropriations, but denies 

lie expediency of some provisions contained in the bill, and as- 

ames to put his judgment, on this subject, against that of the 

epresentatives of the people, and to control it. "In relation 

our foreign commerce," he says, "the burden and benefit 

''"protecting and accommodating it, necessarily go together, 

nd must do so as long as the public revenue is drawn from 

he people, through the custom house. But local expenditures 

lave not, of themselves, a correspondent operation. Prom a 

•ill making direct appropriations for such objects, (that is, 

protecting and accommodating foreign cormncrce) I should 

ot have withheld my assent. The one now returned, does 

in several particulars; but it also ccmlains appropriations 

or surveys of a local character, which I cannot approve." 

ience it follows, that on all subjects of internal improvement, 



108 MESSAGE OF 1B29 — POLICY OF THE ADMINISTRATION. 

the progress of the country must depend, not upon the will 
of the people, as expressed by their representatives, but upon 
the executive judgment of expediency. And we have just • 
seen, that, according to that judgment, it is expedient to ap- ^ 
propriate money to improve the navigation of a creek, whose f 
waters float only a few canoes, but it is inexpedient to im- 
prove the navigation of the Ohio, which bears on its broad '' 
bosom, hundreds of steamboats, and the produce of mighty v 
States. 

212. But, the expediency upon this subject is to be deter- 
mined by a rule which at once cuts off a large proportion of 
the most populous regions of the country, from the benefit of 
the acknowledged right of appropriating the public treasure. 
This rule is furnished in the following passage of the execu_ 
live message of December, 1834. "Althougn," he says, 
have expressed to Congress my apprehension that these ex 
penditures have sometimes been extravagant, and dispropor 
tionate to the advantages to be derived from them, I hav( 
not felt it to be my duty to refuse my assent, lo bills contai 
ing them, and have contented myself to follow, in this respec 
in the footsteps of my predecessors. Sensible, however, fro 
experience and observ^ation, of the great abuses to which the 
unrestricted exercise of this authority, by Congress, was ex- 
posed, I have prescribed a limitation for the government of 
my own conduct, {and we say, in effect, for the governmenl 
of Congress, too) by which expenditures of this character 
are confined to places below the ports of entry and delivery.'' 

We forbear to comment upon the arrogance of the individ-i 
ual who thus reproves and condemns the long course of for- 
mer legislatures, and prescribes a rule of action to the pre 
sent and future ones, which he himself declares imperfect anc 
unsatisfactory. But we call the attention of our fellow citi 
zens to the fact, that, this avowed policy of the present ad ■ 
ministration, and doubtless of its proposed successor, is in ef ' 
feet, to exclude all tiie great waters of the West, and consc 
quently all the great countries of the West, and also th( 
great rivers of the East, from the benefits which they shouk 
derive from the Union. The surplus funds of the nation, un 
less distributed among the States, are not to be used in th< 
improvement of the country, unless upon the seaboard. Howl 
let us ask, can the great States of Pennsylvania and New 
York submit to a policy, which excludes the navigation of 
their magnificent Susquehannah from the aid of the national 
purse, when its improvement for steamboat navigation would, 



MESSAGE OF 1829 — rOLlCY OF THE ADMINISTRATION. 109 

increase the prosperity of every State upon the Atlantic 
slope ] 

213. We have admitted, tliat, the true rule for applying 
the national funds to internal improvement, is the public and 

; general character of tiie improvement, the use and purpose to 
which it is designed and adapted, not its locality or extent. 

; Thus, the Louisville canal, though located in Kentucky, and 
having a Icngtli of but two miles, is a national object; since 
it accommodates a trade, in which the whole Union is inter- 
ested. So, too, the Delaware and Chesapeake canal, the vote 
upon whicii the President condemns, is eminently a national 
object, Ibrming a link of coast navigation most advantageous 
in peace and inestimable in war: So, too, was the Mays- 
ville road, which facilitates the transportation of tlie mail 
to important sections of the Union, promotes internal com- 
merce among several States, and may tend to accelerate the 

I movements of armies and the distribution of the munitions 
of war: So, too, was the bill in aid of the Frederick and 
Rockville turnpike road, — such road being, in fact, a continu- 
ation of the great Cumberland road; for whose formation, 
more than twenty acts have passed Congress, one of which 
was, even now, approved by the President. Yet, that offi- 
cer, in contempt of the judgment of Congress has, in his wis- 
dom, decreed, that these objects are all of a local character. 

214. But wc should do the President great injustice, did we 
omit to consider, two other reasons assigned by him for the ex- 
ercise of his veto. They were, first, that he felt himself un- 
warranted in sanctioning appropriations for internal improve- 
ments, until the national debt was paid; and second, that, it 
was his duty to repress the disposition which Congress dis- 
played, to squander the public treasure. The reader will be 
qualified to judge of the force of the first, when instructed, 
that, had the proposed important improvements, which the 
President negatived, been perfected, the final payment of tlie 
national debt would have been procrastinated ten days. The 
force and propriety of the second can be felt, only, by those, 
who believe, that the President is endowed with greater wis- 
dom and more profound knowledge of the public interests, 
than the representatives of the people in general Congress 
assembled. 

215. The com. ofthellouseof Representatives, Mr. Hemp- 
hill chairman, a Jacksonman, to whom so much of the Presi- 
dent's message as relates to internal Improvements was refer- 
red, reported in direct and full reprobation of his principles, and 

10 



110 MESSAGE OF 1829 — POLICY OF THE ADMINISTRATION. 

remarked in reference to the Washington and Frederick road 
and Louisville and Portland canal, that "there was little 
tie, if any doubt, as to the nationality or expediency of the 
object, and the principles of the policy alone governed the 
members. They presented the fairest test of the opinions 
entertained by the representatives of the people concerning 
the propriety of subscribing for stock in private companies." 
And they, therefore, deny that there was any change in the 
public mind on this interesting subject. To render the exer- 
cise of the veto still more extraordinary, whilst a narrow cir- 
cumvallation was drawn around the system of internal improve- 
ment, to be straightened, or enlarged at the President's plea- 
sure, he did, in 1831 and 1832, and subsequently, sanction appro- 
priations similar to those he had rejected ; mocking himself and 
deriding the country by his inconsistency. He approved "an 
act making appropriations for carrying on certain roads and ; 
works of Internal Improvements, and providing for surveys," 
which, in despite of the veto, had passed both houses by large 
majorities — receiving in the Senate 26 votes to 10. And in 
July, 1832, he approved and signed, " Aii act maJiing appropri- 
ations for certain internal improvements for the year 1832, 
including appropriations for almost every sort of public work 
coming under that definition, from the sum of $270,000 lor 
the Delaware Breakwater to the pittance of ,$250 for remov- 
ing obstructions on the Berwick branch of the Piscataqua 
river. The whole sum appropriated by that bill' exceeds a 
million of dollars, and yet, with the most reckless inconsis- 
tency, lie rejected a bill at the same instant, embracing the 
features, and the features only, of one that he approved. 

An attempt, indeed, has been made to get over this incon- 
sistency, by claiming for the President the new and higher 
power to dispense with the laws, even, with those which he 
himself has sanctioned. 

Thus the Globe of the 11th of July, 1832, in the very pre- 
sence of the General, declares, in an authoritative manner, 
that, " with respect to the Missouri, the Mississippi above the 
mouth of that river, and the Monongahela above Pittsburg, 
if, on inquiry, HE (the President) becomes satisfied, that 
these streams from their importance are within the princi- 
ples laid down in the Maysville veto, HE will go on to ex- 
tend tlie improvements to them; if HE is satisfied they are 

not, HE WILL NOT EXERCISE THE AUTHORITY VESTED IN 



HIM ! !" 



Ours is designed to be the government of the majority, but 



I 



MESSAGE OF 1S29 — I'OLICY OF THE ADMINISTRATION. Ill 

it has been our fate, under the Jackson administration, to have 
failed in the most interesting objects of that design, to liave the 
voice of the majority controlled and annulled by an individual, 
and the whole welfare of the country made dependent upon 
one man. Is this the design of the Constitution? If it be, 
then have our forefathers most vainly fought tor freedom, and 
we have most grossly flattered their wisdom, which instead 
of framing a system of rational liberty and popular govern- 
ment, has tbrmed an intricate, but nevertheless, an absolute 
despotism. To determine this problem we must ascertain 
what is the true character of the legislative power of the 
President. 

216. By the Constitution, every bill which shall have 
passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, must be 
presented to the President; if he approve, he signs it, if 
not, he returns it, with his objections to that House, in 
which it originated, which enters the objections, at large, upon 
its journal, and proceeds to reconsider it. If, then, it re- 
ceive the sanction of two-thirds of both Houses, it becomes a 
law. If the President do not return the bill within ten days, 
(Sundays excepted) after it has been presented to him, it be- 
comes a law, as if he had signed it; unless Congress, by ad- 
iournment, prevent its return, in which case, it is not a law. 

217. The power of rejection thus given to the President, 
is called his veto, from the latin verb to forbid. It was 
adopted from the British Constitution, where the King pos- 
sesses the absolute power to negative every legislative act; 
but, it was qualified by our Convention, in the form above 
Btated. It is a most high power, and designed for extraordi- 
nary occasions. The exercise of it, in England, is wisely 
forborne; and its repose htxs probably been the preservation 
of its existence. There has been no instance of its use, since 
the year 1G92; and for this, the absolute nature of the power 
is, perhaps, the best reason. It was given to defend the 
crown against the encroachment of the parliament, in Eng- 
land, and it was given, here, to the Executive, for the pur- 
pose of self-protection. 

218. The veto power, however, was not bestowed by the 
Convention without objection. It was urged, that, though it 
might be used to protect other powers conferred upon the 
Executive, and to hinder the enactment of bad laws, it might 
be perverted to prevent the passage of good ones. It was re- 
plied, that, the superior weight and influence of the Legisla- 
ture, and tlio hazard to the Executive, in a trial of strength 



112 MESSAGE OF 1829 — POLICY OF THE ADMINISTRATION. 

with it, afforded undoubted security, that the negative would 
generally be employed with great caution, and with timidity, 
rather than rashness; that, if a King of Great Britain, with 
his train of sovereign attributes, and with influence drawn , 
from a thousand sources, would not venture to negative the 
resolution of parliament, how much more reserve might be 
expected from a President of the United States, clothed for 
four years only, with the executive authority of a govern- 
ment purely republican ; that there would be greater dan- 
ger of his forbearance, when the power was necessary, than 
of his using it too often, or too much. 

219. The country has no longer any apprehension of this 
kind. For the removal of such chimerical fears, it is indebt- 
ed to the present Chief Magistrate. It has seen him, upon 
questions, admitted to be purely of expediency, oppose his 
veto to the voice of the representatives of the people, again 
and again ; and, boldly, under the pretence of an appeal to the 
nation, arraign those representatives before the tribunal of a 
party, and compel them, from a dread of party punishment, — 
from the fear of losing caste, and from exclusion from execu- 
tive favours, — to record the imperious rescript. General 
Jackson has proven, for a thousandth time, that a popular 
demagogue may safely dare encroachments on popular rights, 
which would cost a monarch his life, as v/ell as his crown. 

220. The Executive was armed Vv'ith the veto for self-pro- 
tection, and for arresting unconstitutional leorislation. But 
as vigorous as the exercise of the privilege should be, in such 
cases, so reserved should it be in all others ; the use, in the 
first, tending to sustain the equipoise of powers established by 
the Constitution, and in the second, to destroy it. We cannot 
assume, with the shadow of propriety, that, the representatives 
of the people, unbiased by the Executive, will, voluntarily, 
abuse their powers by corrupt legislation. Of the number and 
expediency of the laws, they are the proper and the best judges. 
From the engrossing nature of all power, they may invade 
the province of other departments, and, in human fallibility, 
may mistake their constitutional authority. In either case, 
the veto will be properly interposed. But, such transgression 
must be rare ; and is not more probable, than that, the Exec- 
utive may, ignorantly, presume its existence, and, arrogantly, 
attempt to repress it. When employed, by the President, in 
the sincere desire to preserve the Constitution, he nobly, 
though, perhaps, erringly, fulfils his duty; but, when used, 
under that pretence, for other purposes, or apolied to cases of 



MESSAGE OF 1829 — POLICY OF THE ADMINISTRATION. 113 

mere expediency, he, as the case may be, corruptly, pervert.s 
his powers, or wantonly abuses tlicin, and violates the spirit 
of the Constitution, by invading tiie proper rights of the 
legislature. 

221. The use which President Jackson has made of the 
veto, is wholly imprecedented, in frequency, as in cause. 
General VVasliington employed it in a single case only: Tiie 
elder Adams, who is not chargeable with want of energy, 
and Mr. Jefferson, never exerted it; Mr. Madison exercised 
it in three cases of constitutional difficulty, at long intervals; 
Mr. Monroe in one case only, and that, also, on constitutional 
grounds; and John Quincy Adams, as learned as discreet, 
never presumed to oppose the popular will, whose constitu- 
tional expression he sincerely respected. At one session. 
General Jackson nullified four acts of Congress, and subse- 
quently has rejected four others. 

222. With an unbiased legislature, even the abuse of this 
power, such as we have seen, however vexatious, might not 
prove, ultimately, dangerous to the public weal, since the 
people, through the constitutional majority of Congress, might 
correct executive error, or presumption; but, when Congress 
shall be biased by the influence of party, and corrupted by 
the lust of office, it will be vain to hope for such majority; 
and if the Elxecutive be not able to procure what law-s ho 
will, he may prevent the enactment of such as curb the ex- 
ercise of illegitimate power, and may, with impunity, arrest 
every measure which does not square with his purposes. 
Thus, we have seen, the course of public improvement im- 
peded, the currency of the country deranged, the public 
treasure torn from the custody of the national fiduciary— and, 
in a word, the novelties of inexperienced empirics substituted 
for a policy which wisdom had dictated, and beneficial prac- 
tice had matured. 

223. V. The condition and ulterior destiny of the Indian 
tribes within the United States have ever been subjects of deep 
interest with the Government. It has sought to introduce 
among them the arts of civilization, and to divert them from 
a wandering life. But these benevolent purposes have been 
marred, generally, by the impracticable character of the abo- 
riginal race, which make it necessary for the preservation of 
peace, and the progress of the white population, that the Gov- 
ernment should avail itself of every favourable opportunity to 
purchase their lands, and, consequently, to drive the tenants 
further into the wilderness. 

10* 



114 MESSAGE OF 1S29 — POLICY OF THE ADMINISTRATION. 

224. From this fate, it seemed ^is if the Cherokees, the 
Choctaws, and the Chickasaws, having made great advances in.^ 
civilization, vi^ere to be redeemed. But, the two last have been 
unable to withstand the instances of the present administration, 
and have been swept beyond ihe Mississippi ; there, it is to be 
feared, to dwindle and perish, as the mass of their red breth- 
ren have done. The Cherokees have firmly resisted every 
effort to remove them ; and the transition through which they 
are passing, is a case of absorbing interest in the history of 
man. Already do they till the ground, and manufacture, ex- 
tensively, for themselves; they liEuve workshops, schools, 
churches, a regularly organized government, a written Ian-' 
guage, invented by another Cadmus, and a printing press, 
So great, indeed, has been their improvenient, that indi- 
viduals of this nation, as admitted, on all sides in Congress, 
are qualified for seats in that august body. 

225. The soil upon which these tribes reside, lies within the 
States of Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi; which, claiming 
to be the only sovereigns, within their respective territories, 
have extended their laws over the aborigines: and the former 
State having seized, surveyed, and distributed, without 
compensation, the Indian lands, thus committed a grievous 
oppression, to w'hich the General Government has become a 
party. But to understand this properly, we must develope, 
concisely, the relations between the Cherokees and the Uni- 
ted States. 

226. It would be vain, now, to discuss the equity of the 
power, assumed by the States of Europe, and their American 
successors, over the aborigines of our continent. We char- 
acterize it, sufficiently, by observing, that the right of dis- 
covery, upon which it is founded, is that which force and art 
obtain over weakness and simplicity. Selfish as it is, the 
moral sense has moulded it into something resembling jus- 
tice — has restrained it by principles which may not be aban- 
doned, without the reproach of broken faith, and the condem- 
nation of the world. These principles originate in a species 
of national law, and in special compacts between the Indians 
and the General Government. 

227. The source of all right to property, is possession and 
continued use. That, the Indian derived from his Creator; 
and it has been, in a qualified manner, acknowledged by his 
discoverer. Under the right of discovery, the Indians are 
admitted to possess a present right of occupancy, subordinate 
to the ultimate dominion of the discoverer; and, in a certain 



t 



i 



MESSAGE OF 1829 — POLICY OF THE ADMINISTRATION. 115 

sense, to exercise sovereignty over the soil. They might 
I transfer these right to the sovereign of the discoverer, but 
j to none others; until transfer, they were deemed sovereigns 
de facto. In a word, the Indian nations were always con- 
1 sidered as distinct, independent, political communities, retain- 
i ing their original natural rights, as the indisputed possessors 
! of the soil, from time immemorial; with the single restric- 
tion, imposed by irresistible power, which excluded them from 
intercourse with any European potentate, other than the first 
discoverer of the coast of the particular region claimed; and 
this restriction the European potentates imposed on them- 
selves, as well as upon the Indians. With the rights of the 
discoverer, the United States adopted their obligations. 

223. In this view of the subject, the State of Georgia, orig- 
inally, concurred with her sister States and the Government 
of the United States; acquiescing in the universal conviction, 
that the Indian nations possessed a full right to the lands they 
occupied until that right should be extinguished by the 
United States, with their consent ; that their territory was 
separated from that of any State within whose chartered 
limits they might reside, by a boundary line established by 
treaties ; that, within their boundary, they possessed rights 
with which no State could interfere; and that, the whole 
power of regulating intercourse with them was vested in the 
United States. 

229. By treaties, ofcen confirmed, the United States have 
recognized, the qualified independence of the Clierokee na- 
tion; have solenmly guaranteed to it all the lands which it 
has not ceded; have assumed the duty of, and pledged their 
faith for, its protection ; pursuant thereto, have restrained 
their citizens from encroachmenis on the Cherokee country; 
and for promoting the civilization of this, in common with 
other tribes, have authorized the President, willi consent of 
the Indians, to employ agents to instruct them in agriculture, 
in reading, writing and arithmetic, and to perform such otlicr 
duties, as may be enjoined, by him, to such end. The power 
for these measures flows from the Constitution of the United 
States, conferring the powers of war and peace, of making 
treaties, and of regulating commerce witii foreign nations 
and among the several States, and with the Indian tribes. 

230. By articles of agreement and cession, 24 April 1802, 
the State of Georgia ceded to the United States certain lands, 
then within her boundary, upon the stipulation, among others, 
that, the United States should, at their own expense, extinguish 



116 MESSAGE OF 1829 POLICY OF THE ADMINISTRATION. 

for the use of Georgia, the Indian title to all lands within the 
State, as early as the same can be peaceably obtained, on rea- 
sonable terms. This stipulation has been in part, but only '% 
in part, fulfilled. The Cherokee title has not been extinguish- 
ed, the nation refusing to sell on any terms ; and, conse- 
quently, the United States, without delinquency, have been 
unable to effectuate this object of the cession. 

231. The great progress in civilization of the Cherokees 
and their establishment of political government, were demon- 
strations of a permanency of position, which alarmed the 
State of Georgia. The increase of the whites required ad- 
ditional territory, which became more desirable by the dis- j 
covery that the Indian country abounded in gold. These " 
circumstances, and we must, in justice, add, a natural wish 
to free its borders from a semi-barbarous race, induced the 
State to seize and divide the Indian land, among her citizens, 
and to expel, or reduce beneath her laws, the Indian inhabit- 
ants. Against these injuries, the Indians, instead of taking ' 
arms, as was once their wont, have, in reliance on their trea- 
ties and the uninterrupted policy of the Government, prayed 
the protection of the United States. The administration of 
Mr. Adams responded to the call with the promptness and 
firmness which good faith required. He concurred in opinion 
with Mr. Jefferson and others, his predecessors, that, " the 
Government should firmly maintain the ground, that, until 
the Indians should cede their lands by treaty, no act of a State 
could give right thereto, and that the Government should ex- 
ert all its energy for the patronage and protection of the 
rights of the Indians ; and that if settlements were made on 
land unceded by them, without the previous consent of the 
United States, the Government would be bound, not only to 
declare them unauthorized, but to remove them by the public 
force.* 

232. With the advent of General Jackson to power, the 
prospect of the Cherokees was wholly changed. The pro- 
tection of the Government was deliberately refused, and its 
sacred faith violated. The dejected complainants were per- 
emptorily told, that they must emigrate beyond the Mississippi 
or submit to the laws of Georgia. Either alternative is viewed 
by them, as the seal of their destruction ; and the latter, is 
admitted by the advocates of Georgia to be conclusive of the 
Indian fate. 

* See Letter of Mr. JefTerson to Gen. Knox, August JO, 1791. 



MESSAGE OF 18l29 — POLICY OF THE ADMINISTRATION. 117 

233. The first duty of tlie President is to execute the laws, 
of which treaties form a part. But General Jackson has 

' united with the interested Georgians to declare the conven- 
tions with the Indians, formally ratified by the Senate, and 
; the laws regulating intercourse with the tribes, to bo unconsti- 
1 tutional, and has refused to obey and execute them ; herein 
usurping- the province of the Judiciary department of the 
Government. The Supreme Court upon the most deliberate 
survey of the question has decided, that "the Cherokee na- 
tion is a distinct community occupying its own country, witli 
boundaries accurately described, in which the laws of Geor- 
gia have no force, and which the citizens of Georgia have no 
right to enter, but with the assent of the Cherokees them- 
selves, or in conformity with the treaties and with the Acts 
of Congress." 

234. It is freely granted, that the case is delicate and diffi- 
cult. That it calls for prudence and forbearance. But it does 
not, necessarily, involve a conflict of arms, between Georgia 
and the Union. Had the influence of the Government of the 
United States been opposed to the encroachments of Georgia; 
had it been given to support the faith of the nation, it is pre- 
sumable, that, the difficulties, in due time, might havd been 
peaceably overcome, and the purity of the national character 
sustained untainted. But, there is too much reason to be- 
lieve, that the wish to propitiate the State, to secure its vote, 
has determined the course of the Executive. 

235. With a view, however, to remove the inconvenience 
under which the States of Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi 
certainly laboured, the President proposed, " to set apart an 
ample district, west of the Mississippi, and without the limits 
of any State or territory, to be guaranteed to the Indian tribes, 
so long as they shall occupy it; each tribe having a distinct 
control over the portion designated for its use." This measure 
is of very doubtful policy. The Cherokees deprecate it, as 
one of utter ruin. The congregated Indian races may soon 
destroy .the game; and with it, many of them must perish. 
The tribes, which range over a much larger territory than 
will be given to the exiles, suffer, annually, from famine, and 
the emigrants, as hunters, cannot escape it. As agricultur- 
ists, they have much to learn, for which their new state 
would be illy adapted; and it is greatly to be feared, that, in 
this respect, retrogradation will attend their removal, even 
should they be unable to escape the horrors of war, almost in- 
evitable, among the commingled tribes. It is a question, 



118 MESSAGE OF 1829 — POLICY OF THE ADMINISTRATION. 

however, which can be determined by experiment only; and 
Congress have consented to make it, appropriating a half mil- 
lion of dollars, for the allotment of a district beyond the Ar- 
kansas, and the removal of such tribes as will consent to emi- 
grate, 

237. But the Cherokees will not depart. They have been 
assailed, by order of the administration, with bribes and 
threats, but they are immoveable. They cast themselves 
upon the graves of their fathers, and implore the Government, 
by the remembrance of their former power and hospitality, 
not to tear them from these relics of departed greatness; they 
point to their farms, their dwellings, their churches, and their 
schools, and cry, " these are the fruits of the white man's 
benevolence, let him not destroy the good work of his hands.'''' 
We fear, however, they pray in vain. The administration 
has sped the bolt, which, unless averted, must prostrate the 
nation. But if the Indians were disposed, for the sake of 
present peace, to abandon their country, they cannot rely 
upon the promise of the United States for protection. To 
every assurance of this kind, they reply, we now hold your 
most solemn pledge for the same purpose. We have called 
upon you to redeem it in vain. How, then, can we confide 
in promises which we have found utterly worthless? 

238. VI. Another portion of the message, highly character- 
istic of the disposition of the administration to enlarge its pow- 
ers, was the premature introduction of the question relative 
to the recharter of the United States Bank. At this period, 
the charter had more than six years to run, and the effect of 
immediate consideration was to agitate and disturb the coun- 
try, upon a subject of the deepest interest. The institu- 
tion, in the highest credit, was fulfilling all its duties, in 
the most satisfactory manner, and aiding in the most profit- 
able way, the successful business of the whole country. 
This moment, the administration chose for sov^ing doubt and 
alarm; declaring, "Both the constitutionality and the expe- 
diency of the law creating this Bank, are well questioned by 
a large portion of our fellow citizens; and it must be admit- 
ted by all, that it has failed in the great end of establishing a 
uniform and sound currency," 

239. The true cause of this untimely suggestion is to be 
found in the succeeding paragraph of the message. " Under 
these circumstances," the President observes, " if such an insti- 
tution is deemed essential to the fiscal operations of the Gov- 
ernment, I submit to the wisdom of the Legislature whether, a 



MESSAGE OF 1829 — POLICY OF THE AJJMIMSTR.VTIO.N. li(j 

.national one, founded on Government credit, and its revenues, 
niig"lit not be devised, wliicli would avoid all constitution.! I 
ditKculties, and, at the sauje time, secure all the ndvanUiyes 
to the Government and country, tliat were expected to result 
from the present Bank." 

240. A more insidious attack upon the liberties of the Uui- 
'ted States, could not have been made, than by this proposition; 
a more grasping etlbrt at power, has never been known in this 
country. We know, however suitable its consequencesmight 
be to the President's disposition, that he did not originate it. 
ft was a fruit of the mind of the American Talleyrand, who 
looked by elevation to the presidency, to the enjoyment of its 
maturity. Let us examine, for a moment, the nature of this 
monstrous conception. 

For every effective purpose, the proposed Bank must have 
been one of discount and deposit, and have had branches, as 
many, at least, as the Bank of the United States, and proba- 
bly many more. For, the administration would have had a 
direct interest in establishing a branch wherever it could 
place one. A great central Bank at Washington, without 
branches, would have been useless, in the great object of 
furnishing a uniform national currency; such currency de- 
pending upon the certain and prompt convertibility, at every 
point of the Union, of the notes of the Bank into coin. But 
a promise to pay specie at a place remote from the circulation 
of the notes, and where they would never come, save at great 
expense, and for the sole purpose of payment, would neither 
give credit to the notes, nor operate as an effective check 
upon over issues. The notes would rest upon the same basis 
of credit, as the paper money of our Revolution, the assignats 
of revolutionary France, and the treasury notes of the late 
war ; all of which were receivable in payments to the Gov- 
ernment: But the two first became wholly worthless, and the 
last, though bearing interest, sunk to 20 per cent, below par. 
But, the notes of such a Bank would depreciate from another 
cause, which constitutes a conclusive objection to the institu- 
tion. There would be nothing to limit excessive issues, but 
the discretion and prudence of the Government, or of the 
direction. 

241. The National Bank being one of many branches, its 
patronage would have been almost boundless. The Bank of 
the United States employs five hundred agents, and aNation- 
tional Bank would soon find means to double that number. 
But, the influence resulting from the annual appointment of 



120 MESSAGE OF 1829 — POLICY OF THE ADOTNISTRATION. 

these agents, great as it might be, would be harmless, in com- 
parison with that flowing from the dispensation of bank ac- 
commodations, which might now be estimated at sixty mil- 
lions of dollars, and which would increase, annually. What 
mind does not shrink from the contemplation of a project so 
ominous to the purity of the Government, and the liberties of 
the people. No Government, except, perhaps, the despotism 
of Russia, ever had a patronage so prodigious in its influence, 
and so dangerous in its character. In the most desperate 
financial extremity, no other European Government has ven- 
tured upon an experiment so perilous. If the American Ex- 
ecutive possessed the whole patronage of the English mon- 
archy, political and civil liberty would not be so much en^j 
dangered, as by this pecuniary machine, giving to the admin- 
istration a vast, almost unlimited, fund, for rewarding political 
partisans. 

242. The committee of ways and means of the House of 
Representatives, composed of a majority of the friends of 
General Jackson, whose chairman was Mr. George McDuffie, 
one of the most distinguished of his partisans, ably exposed 
the true character of this conspiracy, of consummate and 
profliofate art, vvith ignorant and reckless audacity, against 
the nation; and thus indicated the probable consequences of its 
success. 

" Without assuming that a corrupt use would be made of 
this new species of government patronage, a very slight ac- 
quaintance with the practice of all political parties, whatever 
be their professions, will be sufficient to satisfy any reflecting 
mind, that, all the evil consequences of corruption would flow 
from its exercise. Have not our political contests, too fre- 
quently, degenerated into a selfish scramble for the offices of 
the country? Are there not those, who sincerely and hon- 
estly believe, that these offices are legitimate objects of politi- 
cal warfare, and the rightful reward of the victorious party? 
And disinterested and patriotic as the great body of every po- 
litical party is admitted to be, the fact is no less true than it 
is lamentable, that the most devoted and active partisans are, 
very often, mere soldiers of fortune, who watch the political 
signs, and enlist at the eleventh hour, under the banners of 
the party most likely to prove successful. Such being, more 
or less, the composition of all political parties, what would be 
the probable use made of fifty millions of bank patronage, by 
a political party which conscientiously, held the doctrine, that 
all the offices in the gift of the Executive should be divided 



MESSAGE OF 1829 — POLICY OF THE ADMINISTRATION. 121 

ainon^ the partisans of a successful political leader? Would 
not the same principle be even more applicable to Bank loans .' 
And would not the Treasury of tiio United Slates, under the 
sanctifying- inlhience of party delusion and party infatuation, be 
literally plundered, by mercenary retainers, bankrupts in for- 
tune, unci adventurers in politics!" 

243. Witli sucii views the committee, unreservedly, repro- 
bated the project of a Government Bank, and the House, 
though composed of a majority of Jackson men, being not yet 
reduced to absolute submission to the Chief, sanctioned the 
reprobation. The committee endeavour to qualify thcbitter- 
Iness of their reproof, by asserting, "unequivocally, their con- 
Iviction that tlie suggestion of the Chief Magistrate, which 
Ithey had thus freely examined, proceeded from motives of 
the most disinterested patriotism, and was, exclusively, dc- 
' signed to promote the welfire of the country." For the fol- 
lowing expressions of gross adulation, knowing, as we do, the 
jcharacter of the individual to whom they relate, we feel any 
'sentiment save respect; and we are conscious that the worthy 
[chairman, who wrote them, must iioio view tliem with the 
Imost painful feeling of self-abasement. "This is not," con- 
'tinues the report, "the mere formal and heartless homage, 

sometimes offered up to official station, either from courtesy 
or interest, but a tribute, which is eminently due, and checr- 

i fully rendered to the exalted character, of tiie distinguished 

'hidividual on whom it is bestowed." 

244. Now, with all due respect for the honourable com- 
mittee, we contend, that their report exhibits the President 
in the most unfavourable light. Either, he comprehended 
the nature and consequences of the plan he recommended, or 
he did not. If he did ; then, he was urging upon the nation a 
measure, wliich lie knew to be grossly corrupt, and inmii- 
nently dangerous: If he did not; then, as, according to the 
committee, they were glaring and palpable, he was incompe- 
tent to appreciate measures whose offensiveness struck forci- 
bly the senses of every other person. 

We believe that the consecjuences of the measure were 
perfectly apprehended, and wittingly designed, and that, not- 
withstanding the laboured and just exposition of the commit- 
tee, like objects have been earnestly, ardently, and successfully 
pursued. The project was again urged upon Congress in tlie 
message of 1830, and the seizure of the money power of the 
country, which it contemplated, was effected, by the subsequent 
removal of the funds of the nation from the custody of the 
11 



122 MESSAGE OF 1829 — rOLICY OF THE ADMINISTRAiii^JS. 

Bank of the United States, its clioscn depository, into Banks, 
selected by, and dependent upon, the administration. 

245. The measures we have reviewed, were the most im- 
portant of many proposed by the new administration. In 
both Houses of Congress, there was a decisive majority in fa- 
vour of the administration. Yet tliese prominent measures 
were all, save that for the removal of the Indians, rejected — ' 
demonstrating, tliat, though, the lust of power and of office 
had supplied an amalgam for connecting politicians, the ad- 
ministration and the people were not homogeneous — that their 
interests were not united. The influence of the executive 
department over the legislative, was not then established ; but 
the resistless power it has since acquired over the popular 
branch of Congress, is the corrupted fruit of the executive 
faculties of appointing and removing from office. 

The present hostility of the House of Ilei)resentatives to 
the measures of the administration, and its subsequent sub- 
serviency, is too important a matter in our political history, 
and too ominous of our danger, to suffer the Hrst to remain a 
moment in doubt, and we, therefore, give the evidence of Mr. 
Barbour, once a fast friend of the administration. Mr. Bur- 
gess, in the debate u})on the appropriation for Mr. Randolph's 
ten days' mission to Russia, for which the usual salary for 
one year (9,000 dollars) was required, declared, doubtless, from 
the visible dis])osition to support this appropriation, that sub- 
serviency to executive will, was fir beyond all past extent in 
the history of this country. Mr. J. S. Barbour replied — 

" If there be any thing at this time, more remarkable than 
all other things, it is the utter absence of executive influence 
over the deliberations of this House, as well as of the Senate." 
* * * "It is, however, a fact, as singular as true, that a Presi- 
dent of the United States, holding in full and sure possession 
a larger share of popular favour than most of his predecessors, 
finds that most of his prominent recommendations to Con- 
gress have been neglected. Invested, as he is, with strongest 
evidences of popular regard, all his most prominent recom- 
mendations have perished, by inertion or rejection. This i 
may present a question between the constituent body and 
their agents, of which I mean to give no opinion. Those to ) 
whom the public weal has been entrusted, have doubtless i 
acted upon their own views of right and wrong. But this < 
fact, alone, repels the ill-founded insinuation of subserviency 
to executive behests." 

246. In connection \vith these remarks, however, it will be ■; 



MESSAGE OF 1829 — POLICY OF THE ADMINISTRATION. 123 

remembered, that tlie House had been elected in 1828, that, 
its res^ard tor tlie interest of its constituents was not yet 
wholly overcome by the administration influence, and that at 
its election, the people had not yet felt the full force of 
presidential reform. But Mr. Barbour's remark, that there 
" would be a question between the constituent body and its 
agents," intimated that different relations between the Exec- 
utive and the House, might be soon anticipated. 

247. The reluctance of the House to obey all the Presi- 
dent's behests, was looked upon as a trick of President making, 
designed to operate upon the next election ; and the Globe, 
the newly constituted government paper, denounced the 
: action of Congress, asking, "What can be believed, but 
that principles and measures are advanced and abajidoned, 
advocated and opposed, solely with a view to their effect on 
\ the next presidential elecliony " It is time for the honest 
I and true representatives of the people to take a stand against 
; this miserable, corrupting, fatal, business of President making, 
and in favour of the people. Let not the support of the ad- 
ministration be nominal. Let the spirit of ^rue reform show 
itself in Congress, where it is as much needed as ever it was 
in any of the extensive offices." 

We agree, that this President making is a corrupting busi- 
ness, and that it is most corrupting when exercised by the 
President in power, and that the proclamation from which 
we have just quoted, claiming more than a nominal support 
for the administration, is pregnant evidence of it. The admin- 
istration, that is, its Premier, at least, was looking forward to 
the making of more than one President, and, consequently, to 
the disposal of a prominent rival, in whose favour it was 
supposed the House of Representatives were moulding its 
measures. Our next chapter will afford a lesson to a politi- 
cian how to rid himself of a rival. 



CHAPTER IX. 

HOW TO DISPOSE OF A RIVAL. 

248. We have seen, that Mr. Calhoun had withdrawn from 
the presidential contest, in 1824, and had cfiven his aid to 
General Jackson; but he had never abandoned the liope of 
attaining the high object of his ambition. The Vice Presi- 
dency was a vantage ground from which he might, more 
readily, leap into the desired seat, which he believed, if faith 
could be placed in the professions of man, was to be vacated 
after one term's enjoyment by General Jackson. Mr. C. has 
given his reason for his support of the General thus: "My 
support of him rested on a principle I believe to be funda- 
mental in our political system,* and the hope that his deep 
rooted popularity would afford the most effectual means of 
arresting the course of events (in relation to the tariff and 
internal improvements) which I could not but foresee, if not 
arrested, would bring the great interests of' the country into 
a deep and dangerous conflict:" And, we trust we may be 
permitted to add, with an expectation that he might reap 
the succession. 

249. But against this consummation of liis wishes, all the 
powers of the black art had combined. The potent magician 
had woven his effective spells. Opposed by the deep rooted 
popularity of the General, all hopes of success were vain. 
But, the influence of that popularity was never to be his. 
Mr. Van Buren, too, had counted on the withdrawal of Gen- 
eral Jackson, at the end of his first period. But, when lie dis- 
covered, that the General gave no evidence of satiety in the 
enjoyment of power, he had the patience, the praiseworthy, 
and self-rewarding patience of the calculating politician, to 
postpone the chance of immediate gratification, to the cer- 
tainty of future success. The more ardent spirit of the South 
could not, thus, brook delay, and the efforts of her sons becom- 

* Note. We do not understand this, but suppose it to alhide to 
the assumption, that General Jackson was the choice of the peo- 
ple; but that reason was no way apphcable, before the General had 
tried the polls. Before that, I\Ir. Calhoun had joined his stand- 
ard with the vote of South Carolina 

124 



now TO DISPOSE OF A RIVAL. 125 

ing apparent, Mr. Van Burcn sprung a mine upon Mr. Cal- 
houn, which had been long dug beneath ihc feet of him who 
was the only rival in the Jackson party, who could give Mr. 
Van Buren uneasiness. 

250. It was already lelt, that the influence of reform had 
given to the President a potential, if not a conclusive voice, 
in designating his successor. His favour was as much to be 
sought, as his enmity was to be deprecated. It was, therefore, 
.a desirable stroke of policy lor a Presidential aspirant, to 
gam the one, and to turn the other, upon his rival. Mr. Van 
liuren succeeded in eflecting this, by a coup demaitre which 
,has rarely been surpassed. In it, he exhibited the consum- 
mation of art which conceals art; for whilst he accomplished 
an eflective work, scarce the mark of a tool is visible. The 
work assumes, what it is affirmed to be, the happy ministra- 
ition of Providence. We will endeavour to narrate the par- 
ticulars of this event, preserving chronological order. 

251. Mr. James A. Hamilton, at this time, we believe 
i United States Attorney tor the Southern District of New 
! York, was delegated, in 1827, to represent the New York 
; Tamany Society, at New Orleans, in the celebration of the 

8th of January 1828, at that place. General Jackson had 
been invited by the legislature of Louisiana to attend the 
celebration. Mr. Hamilton joined the General at Nashville, 
whence he proceeded with him and his suite. During the 
\ voyage, there was much conversation among the General's 
friends, in relation to the various charges against the Gene- 
ral, which the Presidential canvass had originated or renew- 
ed ; and, particularly, as to the unfriendly course Mr. Craw- 
ford was supposed to have taken towards him, in relation to 
the Seminole war.* It being understood, that Mr. Hamilton 
on his return, passing through Georgia, would avail himself 
of the opportunity to visit Mr. Crawford, Major Lewis de- 

" The reader will observe, tliat, Mr. Crawford's views of the 
the General's conduct in thatvvar, were known, or supposed to be 
known. The application to be made to him, therefore, could not 
be for information of his views and conduct, but of the views and 
conduct of others. If of others, of whom, save Mr. Calhoun, 
Mr. Adams or Mr. Wirt? Mr. Adams' were fully known— Mr. 
Wirt's were now unimportant. But those of Mr. Calhoun were 
interesting to the General, and to Mr. Hamilton as the adjective 
of Mr. Van Buren. These circumstances raise the violent pre- 
sumption that it wa3 a knowledge of Mr. Calhoun's conduct that 
was to be sought. 

11* 



126 HOW TO DISPOSE OF A RIVAL. 

sired him, or Mr. H. offered, to ascertain, truly, what occur- 
red in Mr. Monroe's cabinet deliberations, in relation to a 
proposition supposed to have been made to arrest General 
Jackson for his conduct in tliat war, and to inform him of the 
result, in order as Mr. H. understood, Mr. Lewis might be 
prepared to defend the General against attack on this point. 

252. On his arrival at Sparta, Georgia, Mr. Hamilton, as 
he declares, ascertaining that Mr. Crawford dwelt sixty miles 
on the left of his route, and might probably be absent from 
home, resolved to push on to Savannah ; thereby, to take a 
detour of one hundred and fifty miles, to the right, avoiding one 
of sixty to his left, by a road, at this season of the year, much 
worse than that which he declined. At Savannah, Mr.- 
Hamilton, under date of 25th January, wrote to Mr. Forsyth, 
then Governor of Georgia, whom he had seen at Milledg- 
ville on his way to Sparta, requesting him to procure, from 
Mr. Crawford, the desired information. Mr. Forsyth replied, 
Feb. 8th 1828, " 1 had a long conversation with Mr. Craw- 
ford and afterwards read him your letter. By his authority, 
I state, in reply, to your inquiry, that at a meeting of Mr. 
Monroe's Cabinet, to discuss tiie course to be pursued towards 
Spain, in consequence of General Jackson's proceedings in 
Florida, during the Seminole war, Mr. Calhoun, the Secre- 
tary of the War Department, submitted to, and urged upon, 
the President, the propriety and necessity of arresting and 
trying General Jackson. Mr. Monroe was very much an- 
noyed by it; expressed a belief that such a step would not 
meet the public approbation; that General Jackson had per- 
formed too much public service to be treated as a younger or 
subaltern officer might, without shocking public opinion. 
Mr. Adams spoke witli great violence against the proposed 
arrest, and justified the General throughout, vehemently, 
urging the President to make the cause of the General that 
of the administration." Mr. Crawford approved of the pro- 
position of Mr. Calhoun, but, disposed of it by reminding 
the Cabinet, that it was convened to determine, how Spain 
was to be treated in relation to the Florida affair ; that the I 
conduct of the General was a matter exclusively between r 
him and his own Government. .' 

253. Pursuing his way home, Mr. Hamilton arrived atU 
Washington, and took lodgings in the house in which Mr. 
Calhoun dwelt, and being anxious to obtain the information 
which he had sought through Mr. Forsyth, solicited an inter- 
view with the Vice President, and asked, " whether at any 



now TO DISPOSE 01" A RIVAL. 127 

meeting of Mr. Monroe's cabinet, the propriety of arresting 
General Jackson for any thiii<^ done by liini durin^r tlie tSemi- 
nole war had been discussed .'" Mr. Calhoun replied, " Never ! 
such a measure was not thought of, much less discussed. The 
only point before the cabinet was, the answer that was to be 
given to tiie Spanish Government." On the liJth Feb. Mr. 
Hamilton wrote, from New York, to Mr, Lewis, at Nashville, 
intbrming him, that he had not seen Mr. Crawford, and 
communicating what he had been told by the Vice Presi- 
dent. 

But not content with the verbal declaration of Mr. Cal- 
houn, for that might become, thereafter, a subject of dispute, 
Mr. Hamilton attempted to procure a written acknowledg- 
ment ; and, to that end, wrote to Mr. C. under date of 2.3th Feb. 
1828, submitting the reply of Mr. C. above given, and ask- 
ing, whether, it had been correctly apprehended .' In reply, 
Mr. Calhoun observed, that, " in the conversation to wiiich 
your letter alludes, 1 supposed, as you did not state the ob- 
ject, that your inquiry as to what had passed on a particular 
point, in the cabinet deliberation on the Seminole question, 
was to obtain information in order to meet mere general ru- 
mour, falsely put out to influence the result of the general 
election. My answer was predicated on such supposition." 
Learning, now, that his name might be broufrht betbre the 
public, in relation to this matter, a conviction of what was 
due from him, as a member of Mr. Monroe's cabinet, induced 
Mr. Calhoun, without the assent of Mr. Monroe and his fel- 
low members of the cabinet, to decline the introduction of 
his name, in any shape, as connected with what had passed in 
the cabinet on the occasion referred to. 

In his account of what passed at the interview witii Mr. 
Hamilton, Mr. Calhoun observes; that Mr, II. "inquired if 
any motion had been made in the cabinet to arrest General 
Jackson ]" To which 1 replied in the negative. It may be 
proper to remark here, that no such motion, or any other, 
was made. The discussion, in reference to the course which 
might be pursued towards him, took place on the suffgestion 
of the propriety of an inquiry into his conduct, and ray an- 
swer was, therefore, in strict conformity to the facts. I ac- 
companied the answer with some general remarks on the 
proceedings of the cabinet, such as I might with propriety 
make without any breach of contidence. I however feel the 
most perfect confidence, that I did not use the expression 
that, "the onlt/ point before the cabinet, was the answer to 



128 HOW TO DISPOSE OF A RIVAL. 

be given to the Spanish Government, as Mr. Hamilton states, 
he understood me, on the 25th of February." 

On the 28th of February, 1828, Mr. Hamilton received 
the letter of Mr. Forsyth. On the 10th of March, he replied 
to Mr. Calhoun, admitting the force of his objection to the 
use of his name, and stating that he had written to Mr. Lew- 
is, informing him, that his, Mr. C's, name was not to be used, 
under any circumstances. On the 15th of March, Mr. Cal- 
houn's suspicions having been awakened, that an attack was 
intended, not agamst him, but against Mr. Monroe, by the 
disclosure that the information had been intended for Major 
Lewis, a particular friend of General Jackson, he, Mr. C. ap- 
plied by letter to Mr. Hamilton, "to be put in possession of 
the facts, from which an attack on General Jackson was in- 
ferred." And on the 20th of March, Mr. Hamilton replied, 
" I am not permitted to disclose to you what I know of the 
matter to which it (Mr. C's letter) refers;" but he gave 
no information of the discrepancy apparent between the state- 
ments of Mr. Calhoun and Mr. Crawford. 

Mr. Hamilton was at this time, 1st March, 1828, in pos- 
session of the following facts, most important in their nature 
to a skilful politician. Mr. Hamilton was then, as now, the 
political, personal, and interested friend of Mr. Van Buren, 
and Mr. Van Buren had every need which a skilful politician 
could have for such facts, to be used at an opportune occa- 
sion. Mr. Hamilton knew, and we cannot for a moment 
doubt, that Mr. Van Buren also, then knew, that Mr. Craw- 
ford avowed, that Mr. Calhoun had, suggested, the arrest, a 
court of inquiry, or proceeding of some sort, against General 
Jackson, for his conduct in the Seminole war, and that Mr. 
Calhoun had denied, that any measures against the General 
had been proposed by any one in the Cabinet. The letter of 
Mr. Forsyth of the 8th of January, 1828, was communicated 
to Major Lewis in the autumn of that year, and from the re- 
lations between that gentleman and General Jackson, it is not 
to be doubted, that he also was soon after informed of its con- 
tents. We have one fact yet to mention, which we think 
may have much bearing on the case. Messrs. Van Buren 
and Cambreleng, in their Southern progress in the spring of 
1827, had spent several days with Mr. Crawford, whose prin- 
cipal friend Mr. Van Buren had been, in the election of 1824; 
and as Mr. Crawford was in the habit of speaking of these 
cabinet affairs, and of Mr. Calhoun, whom he most cordially 
hated and vengefully pursued, it becomes highly probable, al- 



now TO DISPOSE OF A RIVAL. 129 

most certain, that he communicated to liis dearest friends the 
inconsistency, as he supposed, of his enemy, in supporting for 
President, the man wliom he had proposed to arrest, and pos- 
sibly to degrade; overlooking, however, his own inconsisten- 
cy in giving his aid to the same individual, in prosecuting 
wJioni Jie would have united with Mr. Calhoun. » But tlic lat- 
ter jrenlleman was now basking in the sunshine of the Gen- 
eral's favor, and might, probably, derive much benefit from it 
thcreatler; to prevent which was a darhng object with Mr. 
Crawlbrd ; who, to that end, wrote to his friend Mr. Balcb,of 
Tennessee, on the 14lh of December, 1827, " If you can as- 
certain that Calhoun will not be benefited by Jackson's elec- 
tion, you will do him a benefit, by communicating the infor- 
mation to me;" and he also wrote to one presidential elector, 
and we believe to others, to persuade them not to vote for Mr. 
Calhoun as Vice President. We submit, therefore, that this 
purpose of Mr. Crawford's heart, was not absent from his 
mind and conversation when with his friends. Supposing 
Mr. Van Buren to have been then possessed of these facts and 
wishes coinciding so well with his interests, we might, had 
not he denied it, presume him to have been the prompter of 
Mr. Hamilton's otherwise very extraordinary course. 

But, if these facts might prostrate Mr. Calhoun, why not 
use them, at this tmie. . The reply is obvious: They could 
not be used with effect. General Jackson was not President, 
— he might not be ; and to make him so, Mr. Calhoun's inter- 
est might be indispensable. Neither the Chief himself, nor 
Mr. Van Buren, would have ventured a quarrel with the Vice 
President at this time. It might be admitted, however, with- 
out injury to Mr. Van Buren's character as a wily politician, 
that the search after the views of JNIr. jMonroe's cabinet had 
been made, with no other purpose than to obtain material to 
defend General Jackson, and that the events disclosed, aflect- 
ing Mr. Calhoun, were wholly unlooked for, and wholly un- 
known to him, at the time of the disclosure to the General. 

254. These important facts, known to the friends of Gen- 
eral Jackson, and no doubt communicated to him, in 1628, re- 
mained unnoticed by the General, until the winter of 1829-30, 
when the same Mr. Hamilton, who had so successfully and ac- 
cidentally put the Vice President at issue with Mr. Crawford, 
called again upon Mr. Forsyth, then a member of the Senate, 
and requested him, to give to the President, the information he 
had given to him, (Mr. Hamilton.) Mr, Forsyth bade him give 
the President a copy of his letter of the 8th of January, 1828; 



. 130 HOW TO DISPOSE OF A RIVAL. 

but this IMr. Hamilton declined, from a motive of delicacy; 
stating- that he had corresponded with Mr. Calhoun upon the 
subject, and that, the statements of Mr. Calhoun and Mr. 
Crawford did not agree. This information was certainly not 
new to Mr. Forsyth; yet, it induced him, not to give the infor- 
mation, without Mr. Crawford's assent. Mr. Crawford was, 
therefore, applied to, in form, and his answer, dated the 30th 
of April, 1830, was obtained, confirming and enlarging the 
details given by Mr. Forsyth, in his letter to Mr. Hamilton of 
the 8th of April, 1828. The copy of Mr. Crawford's letter, 
duly certified, was furnished to General Jackson, on the 12th 
of May, 1830. The propriety of Mr. Forsyth's course was 
obvious. If a rupture was intended between the President 
and Mr. Calhoun, which his sagacity could not fail to per- 
ceive, the letter of the 8th of January, 1828, would make 
him a principal, until the onus were taken from him, by the 
substitution of Mr. Crawford. He, therefore, justly, wisely 
and politically, resolved, that Mr. Crawford should be put in 
his proper place, in the matter. 

The agency of the delicate Mr. Hamilton, is thus explain- 
ed by the President in his letter of the 7th of June, to iVIr. 
Forsyth. "I had been informed (when, where or how, does 
not appear) that Mr. Crawford had made a statement con- 
cerning this business, which had come to the knowledge of 
Col. James A. Hamilton, of New York. On meeting with 
Col. Hamilton {Mr. Hamilton had been weeks at Washing- 
ton as acting Secretary of State, in the spring of 1829) I 
inquired of him and received for answer that he had, but re- 
marked that he did not think it proper to communicate with- 
out the consent of the writer. I answered, that, being in- 
formed, that the Marshal of this District, had, to a friend of 
mine, made a similar statement, to that, said to have been 
made by Mr. Crawford, I would be glad to see Mr. Crawford's • 
statement, and desired, he would write and obtain his con- 
sent. My reasons were, that I had, from the uniform friend- 
ly professions of Mr. Calhoun, always believed him my friend 
in all this Seminole business; and I had a desire to know, if, , 
in this, I had been mistaken, and whether it W3iS possible for j 
Mr. Calhoun to have acted with such insincerity and duplici- •' 
ty tov/ards me." 

255. Having obtained this copy of Mr. Crawford's letter to j 
Mr. Forsyth, now that the matter was matured for explosion, • 
tlie President hastened to enclose it in a letter, dated 13th ; 
May, 1830, to Mr, Calhoun, reproaching him with insincerity, 



HOW TO DISPOSE OF A RIVAL. L'il 

and adding-, " ]\Iy object in making- tliis connnnnication is to 
atuiouncc to you the great surprize wiiicii is Ibit, and to learn 
of you, whether it be possible, that tlic inl'orniation given is 
correct ; whether it can be, under all the circumstances ot* 
which you and I are both informed, that any attempt seriously 
to affect me, was moved and sustained by you, in the cabinet 
council, when it was known to you I was but cxecutinjr the 
wishes of the Government, and clothed with authority to 
* conduct the war in the manner I might judge best !' " 

Mr. Calhoun replied, on the 29th of May, denying the right 
of the General to claim an account of his conduct, as a public 
functionary ; but expressing his gratification at an opportunity, 
tims furnished him, by Mr. Crawford, of putting his conduct, 
in relation to an interesting public transaction, in a proper 
light — repelling the charge of duplicity, by referring to testi- 
monials long in possession of the General, showing that he 
and Mr. C. had placed diflbrcnt constructions on the order 
under which the General acted in the Seminole war; — ac- 
knowledging, that, as under his conviction, the General had 
exceeded his orders, he had proposed an inquiry, as due to 
the General and the Government, and supported the proposi- 
tion with all the arguments that occurred to him; but, that 
he concurred, after deliberation, in the course adopted, unan- 
imously, by the council; which was, to defend the General's 
conduct in the discussion with Spain; — commenting upon the 
course pursued by Mr. Crawford and his friends ; and an- 
nouncing his conviction, that, "the whole aliair was a politi- 
cal manouvre, in which the design was, that the President 
should be the instrument, and he the victim; but in which 
the real actors were carefully concealed, by an artful move- 
ment." 

General Jackson replied, on the succeeding day, that Mr. 
Calhoun had mistaken his note of the 13t!i. That, he did not 
question Mr. C.'s conduct or motives, but that, it had been in- 
titnated to Inm, years ago, that it was Mr. Calhoun, and not 
Mr. Crawford, "who had been secretly endeavouring to de- 
stroy his reputation;" that he had repelled these insinuations 
"upon the ground that Mr. ('alhoun had professed to be his 
personal friend, and approved, entirely, his conduct in rela- 
tion to the Seminole campaign;" and that, "understanding 
him now, no further communication with him was necessary." 
Some further correspondence took place, between the Presi- 
dent, Mr. Calhoun, Mr. Forsyth, and Mr. Crawford, and 
others, but it shed no additional light upon this particular 



132 HOW TO DISPOSE OF A RIVAL. 

transaction; though it developes, fully, that Mr. Monroe be- 
lieved, that the General had transgressed his orders, but that, 
it was deemed by him and his cabinet, under all circum- 
stances, most politic for the country, to take the responsibil- 
ity, as the conduct of the Spanish functionaries in Florida 
gave them means of defence. 

256. In February 1831, the correspondence of which we 
have given an abstract, was published by Mr. Calhoun, in 
consequence of partial communications having been made to 
the public. On the 25th of that month, Mr. Van Buren pub- 
lished a card, denying all participation in the proceedings, in 
1827 and 1828, to obtain information of the measures of Mr. 
Monroe's Cabinet, relative to the Seminole war ; and aver- 
ing, " that every assertion or insinuation which has for its ob- 
ject to impute to him any participation in attempts, supposed 
to have been made, in the years 1827 and 1828, to prejudice 
the Vice President in the good opinion of General Jackson, 
or at any time, is alike unfounded and unjust. He had no 
motive or desire to create such an impression, and neither 
took, advised, nor countenanced, directly or indirectly, any 
steps to effect that object." 

On the 26th of February, IMr. Hamilton published his ex- 
pose of the case, so far as he admits his concern with it; and 
denied that "he either knew or believed in any such prac- 
tices as charged by Mr. Calhoun against him, or that he, if 
they did exist, participated in them in any respect whatever." 

257. It is the privilege of the accused, in all cases, nny, 
custom makes it almost a duty, to plead "not guilty," before 
a popular or judicial tribunal; but the question still re- 
mains, whether the evidence be sufficient to convict. It may 
be, that the proceedings of Mr. Hamilton, in 1827 and 1828, 
as we have already observed, were w^ithout the participation 
or knowledge, of Mr. Van Buren; but, that he was unac- 
quainted with the result, is not pretended. He w'as, then, in 
a condition to use them, should he deem it necessary. The 
knowledge of them, too, the President possessed, for years, 
but no attempt was made to obtain an explanation, until a 
period, when a rupture between the Presidentand Vice Presi- 
dent was useful to the President and to Mr. Van Buren. 
When it became obvious, tliat a dissolution of the combina- 
tion which had elected General Jackson was about to take 
place, and that the Vice President might become the rival of 
the President, the resolution is taken to sever the friendly 
connection which had existed between the chief officers of 



now TO DISPOSE OF A LIVAL. 1;]3 

tlie nation. Mr. Hamilton is l-ronglit upon tho stnj^o, and, 
dccnicd, tVoni the part he had ah-ea(iy playc;!, the fittest in- 
slrinnent, tor turthor dcvelopnjcnt, is direcli'fl to obtain tioin 
J\Ir. Crawford, the necessary accusation, and the Vice Presi- 
dent is put upon his defence, for an act of which General 
Jackson iiad no right to complain. 'J'hc rcvsult of all this 
was, that, the Vice President was separated from the favour 
of the President, was denounced as his enemy, deprived of 
his countenance, and exposed to the enmity of all the friends 
of (ieneral Jackson — and was thereby liirown hors de com- 
bat, leaving the field to IMr. Van Buren, uncontested by a 
rival whose higji station, and great services to the cause in 
which he had engaged, gave him rich hopes of the succession. 
iMr. Van Buren avers that he had neitiier motive nor interest 
in thus assail inof Mr. Calhoun. But all men see, that the 
motive was powerful, and the interest direci; and they cannot 
sec, that, he was restrained, judging from his political life, 
by any. principle, in thus playing otf the President against his 
most dangerous rival. If, we repeat, Mr. Van Buren was not 
implicated in this plot, its concoction and explosion was, for 
him, a providential event. Had any reason for making the 
incjuiry, been steadily adhered to, more consistency and more 
probability would be given to the defence of those who were 
not interested in the political ruin of the Vice President. But 
these reasons are perpetually changing; at one time the ob- 
ject of the application to Mr. Crawford is stated to be the de- 
fence of General Jackson; at another, to reconcile him and 
Mr. Crawford; at a third, to reply to a supposed book which 
Mr. Monroe was about to write. 

253. But had General Jackson cause to complain of Mr. 
Calhoun ? We cannot perceive it. Mr. Calhoun, as kSecre- 
tary of War, had issued orders to the Genera). The conduct 
of the General was hostile to a nation at peace with the 
United States, and was so far a breach of the Constitution. 
: In this he was, or was not, warranted by his instructions. If 
1 warranted, then, the offence was removed from the General, 
i to the Secretary, and he would become liable to impeach- 
ment. But the latter knew the sense which his orders were in- 
; tended to bear, and in proposing a court of inquiry, he gave a 
, proper opportunity for determining the question which must 
i arise, upon the instructions. Had he been the enemy of tiic 
; General, he would have adhered pertinaciously to his propo- 
sition; but as soon as an opportunity was offered of taking 
other ground, with honour to himself, he cordially gave all 
12 



134 HOW TO DISPOSE OF A RIVAL. 

the support in bis power to the General. In all this, there 
was no cause of offence to the General, had he not been in 
searcli of a cause, and resolved to make, if he could not find, 
one. The only semblance of double dealing, on the part of 
the Vice President, seems in his reply to the question of Mr. 
Hamilton; but, of this, he has given his explanation; and it is 
not of this the President complains, but of the irreproachable 
conduct of Mr. Calhoun in the Cabinet. 

260. This quarrel so artfully and sedulously sought, was 
most rancorously pursued. The editor of the Washington 
Telegraph, who had most zealously fought the present admin- 
istration into power, and had, as was universally charged 
upon him, an almost sovereign influence over the President, 
but which had of late been assumed and exercised by others, 
took the field in defence of JVIr. Calhoun. Tlie Washington 
Globe, which had been established upon the knowledge that 
the Telegraph was endeavouring to sustain the interests of 
Mr. Calhoun, in opposition to those of the General, and more 
especially of Mr. Van Buren, supported the admiinistration. In 
the fierce war that ensued, all discretion was abandoned. 
Tiic selfishness of the several sections was most disgustingly 
exhibited, and, the incompetency of the President most broad- 
ly proclaimed by one, who for two years had hourly opportu- 
nities, to observe, and to abuse it, for extending and maintain- 
ing the influence of the party. If there could have been a 
doubt of the sheer selfishness of the combination, that doubt 
was now dissipated, by the avowal of both sections, that they 
struggled for dominion only. Now became apparent, the ad- 
vantages which a party derives from the purchase of the 
press. The subsidized editors, in every State of the Union, 
supported the administration; and, thus strengthened, Mr. 
Van Buren was emboldened to a coup tVetat, for which the 
personal quarrel between the President and Vice President 
had prepared the way. 



CHAPTER X. 

A UNIT FRACTURED BY JIAGIC. 

261. We have seen, tliat the Jackson Party (shame to the 
citizen who bears a name which devotes him to the will of a 
chief,) was composed of the fragments of all parties ; and if 
like beg-ets like, the administration should be as parti-colored 
and heterogeneous as the columns of Breccia of the Capitol. 
Had these fragments been united by good faith and patriotic 
purposes, like those columns, the party might have become 
firm, and, polished b)'^ use, have been the support and the or- 
nament of the country. But held together by the liquescent 
cement of selfishness only, it dissolved with the sliglitest 
effort of the magician, who presided over it. 

'262. Mr. Van Buren, Secretary of State and first minister 
of the party, was long known, to the country, as one of the 
most skilful politicians it possessed. Disciplined and gradu- 
ated at Tammany Hall, the most renowned seminary for dem- 
agogues on earth, he, an apt pupil, readily acquired the ordi- 
nary arts of the vocation; to which, however, his peculiar 
genius gave an air of ease and grace, rarely attained by grad- 
uates, even, of that institution. Keen-eyed in discerning his 
interests, a happy temperament rendered him imperturbable 
amid the strongest excitements, in its pursuit; whilst a phi- 
losopliic command of the passions saved him from ever being 
long, unpleasantly or unprotitably pledged to any man or mea- 
sure. All his liens were of tiie lightest kind, easily knotted 
and as readily dissolved. Like the humming bird, he flew, 
rapidly, from flower to flower, gently touching each, but draw- 
ing sustenance and delight from all that he touched. In the 
days of his early political practice, he followed De Witt Clin- 
ton, but, when full-fledged, he left his protector, and trusted 
to his own strength of pinion for the highest flights. He 
passed, rapidly, through the grades of party exaltation in his 
own State, and soon became as distinguished, in Congress, as 
at home, for his partisan talents. He embraced the fortunes 
of Mr. Crawford with the assured hope of becoming his Sec- 
! . retary of State, and his successor in the Presidency. 

Upon the defeat of Mr. Crawford, the election of Mr. 
Adams, the non-gratification of his willingness to accept from 

135 



13G A UNIT FRACTURED — BY MAGIC. 

that gentleman the Mission to England, and the nomination 
of Mr. Clay, he, having failed to obtain the confidence of the 
new administration, formed the gieat combination of 1826-7, 
which succeeded in electing General Jackson; and such were 
his services in that cause, that all sections of the party, though 
he was an eleventh hour man, ceded him the first place in the 
Jackson administratio;i. He stepped to it, from the guberna- 
torial chair of New York, to which he had been raised but a 
few months, only, before his nomination to the department of 
State. Mr. Van Buren has been called a Clmtonite, a Craw- 
fordite, a Jacksonite, and has borne, perhaps, some half dozen 
other cognomens. But these are all misnomers; he was 
never else, than a Van Burenite. 

IVIr. Ingham, who was distinguished, by industrious and 
earnest application to study, business, and politics, and, in 
the latter, by violence and little scrupulosity; who had enter- 
ed the political arena as a mongrel federalist, but who soon 
fell into the democratic ranks, and was, there, as every where, 
prescriptive and intolerant; who was the friend and de- 
voted partisan of Mr. Calhoun, but with that gentleman's 
friends in Pennsylvania became, on his recession, the Vv"or- 
shipper of General Jackson; and who was the fiercest assail- 
ant of Mr. Adams and Mr. Clay, was, as a reward to the 
faithfulness of Pennsylvania, and in consideration that she 
was the first State which had invited the General to the Chief 
Magistracy, appointed Secretary of the Treasury. 

Mr. Branch, a Senator from North Carolina, distinguished 
also for his hostility to Mr. Adams and for iiis violence in op- 
posing the Panama mission, but who, nevertheless, enjoyed 
a reputation for honesty if not for sagacity, was named 
Secretary of the Navy, at the instance of Major Eaton, who 
had been his class-mate at college and his friend in mature life: 

Mr. Eaton, notorious, for having his name connected with 
a biography of General Jackson, for his implicit devotion to, 
and dependence on, the General, and for his incompetency, 
was made Secretary of War: 

Mr. Berrien, of Georgia, once devoted to Mr. Crawford, 
was made Attorney General : 

And, Mr. Barry, whose unparalleled service in disciplining 
the party, through the influence of Post OflHce appointments; 
whose profuse expenditures, and unconstitutional borrowings 
of money, have p\it him under perpetual inquisition, and 
have secured for him no enviable place in his country's his- 
tory, was constituted Post Master, with a place, we believe, 



A UNIT FRACTURED— BY MAGIC. 137 

in tlie Cabinet, which had not, heretofore, been given to this 
officer. 

•263. Thus, General Jackson's Cabinet was composed of 
one Van Buren man, tour Jackson men, and one Calhoun man. 
Now, liad all these men been earnestly disposed to promote 
the public service, instead of their private ends, there was 
nothing in their predilections which could have interfered 
With their public duty ; and, all who were competent might 
have been continued in office. But, their official stations 
gave patronage and influence, which might be serviceable to 
The leaders, to whom they were respectively devoted ; and 
Mr. Van Buren, who, from long experience, well knew the 
value of these, resolved to wrest them from hands which 
would employ them, adversely, to himself; and to such a pur- 
pose, it was supposed, Messrs. Ingham, Branch, and Berrien, 
were devoted. He had just succeeded in overthrowing a pow- 
erful rival, and the dispersion of these enemies seemed, as it 
truly was, a trivial matter. 

264. On the 11th of April 1831, Mr. Van Buren took the 
new and successful course of sacrificing his enemies, by an 
apparent offijring up of himself; addressing a letter to the 
President, declaring " he felt it his duty to retire from the 
office to which the President's confidence and partiality had 
called him." The reasons assigned for this event are some- 
what mystified; (it is not easy to overcome a habit, even 
when we are sincerely disposed so to do,) yet we think we 
can draw from the letter of the Secretary and the reply of 
the President, that the following, according to pre-arrange- 
ment, were intended to be impressed on the public mind. 
1. That, notwithstanding his, Mr. Van Buren's efforts to the 
contrary, the canvass for the next Presidency had com- 
menced ; that as some opinions were abroad unfavourable to 
the order of succession by the office of Secretary of State, 
he was not disposed to disfranchise himself by continu- 
ance in office ; but, that, whilst he sought his interest, by 
abandoning it, he made it " his ambition to set an example, 
which should it, in the progress of the Government, be deemed, 
notwithstanding the humility of its origin, worthy of respect 
and observance, could not, he thought, fail to prove, essen- 
tially and permanently, beneficial." 2. That, "diversities 
of ulterior preferences," (/Aof is, different views as to the suc- 
cession), among the friends of an administration were un- 
avoidable ; and where a member of the Cabinet looked to the 
succession, an injurious effect must result to public affairs, 
12* 



138 A UNIT FRACTURED— BY MAGIC. 

inasmuch, as his colleagues in the ministry would, or would 
be supposed to, embarrass the branch of public service com- 
mitted to his charg-e, and that mutual alienation and hostility 
must necessarily result, and opposition to the course of the 
Government would thence acquire new power. 3. That, as 
the President would be re-elected, and as he had been among 
the most urgent of his advisers to stand a second poll, he 
could not consent, by continuance in office, to embarrass the 
future measures of the administration. 

These reasons, it seems, were satisfactory to Mr. Van 
Buren, and sufficiently cogent to produce his resignation ; but 
why should they induce the removal of other members of the 
cabinet? The force of the reasons in applicability to them, 
was diminished by that resignation. The ulterior preferences 
of the remaining ministers were almost unanimous, and none 
of them were Presidential candidates. All would support 
the General in a second election, but, three of them, (Mr. 
Eaton retiring, live being left,) would not support Mr. Van 
Buren for the succession. This was the true reason for the 
removal of the three ministers. If the harmony which should ■ 
have prevailed among them, had been broken, from causes 
of a domestic or private character, it was by the retirement 
of Mr. Eaton, restored. 

265. Mr, Eaton who had been many years in public life, and, to 
all men's eyes, seemed devoted to public office, and had been 
admitted to ihe cabinet much against the wishes and remon- 
strances of some of General Jackson's friends, it now ap- 
pears, "had entered it contrary to his own wishes, and having 
nothing to desire, either as it regarded himself or friends, 
(^with a Jackson man this desire seems ever in considera- 
tion,) had ever shice cherished a determination to avail him- 
self of the first favourable moment, after the administration 
should be in successful operation, to retire." And on the 
7th of April, 1831, he tendered his resignation. In the ap- 
peal Mr. Eaton has made to the public, he renders these mo- 
tives doubtful, by displaying an unabated love for office, and 
showing that he retired, that he might not be the occasion of 
embarrassment to the President, in the reorganization of his 
cabinet, to be accomplished by dismissing the disaffected 
portions. 

2G6. On the 18th of April the President communicated to 
Mr. Ingham the resignations of the Secretary of State and 
the Secretary of War, and submitted the letter of the former; 
remarking, that this proceeding was made known to him, as 



A. UNIT FRACTURED — BY MAGIC. 139 

one of those wliom tlie President had associated, with liim- 
self, in the administration of tiie (iovcrnment, and tiiat, he 
would, atler a few days' reflection, have further conversa- 
tion with him upon the subject. This was an intimation 
of the President's wish that JNlr. Ingham should follow 
the example of the Secretaries who Imd retired. But this 
Mr. Ingham would not understand, and by a note of that 
date, lie sougiit a more distinct expression of the President's 
wishes. An interview ensued, in which the Secretary of 
the Treasury was "gratified to find himself relieved from 
the uncertainty," caused by the President's previous commu- 
nication ; and by a note of the 19th, he apologized, for not 
following the example set him, by a voluntary resit^nation of 
liis otHce, being wholly miconscious of the application to 
himself of any of the reasons, so far as he was apprised of 
them, which had induced them to withdraw from the public 
service, and that it was, therefore, due to his character that 
he should find a reason for resigning in the distinct expres- 
sion of the President's wish to that eliect ; having that, he 
tendered his commission ; his resignation to take effect so 
soon as his services might be dispensed with, which were re- 
<]uired, to perfect a report on Weights and Measures, until 
the 26t]i of June. 

On the succeeding day, the President, by letter, accepted 
the resignation, and observed, " When the resignations of the 
Secretary of State and Secretary of War were tendered, I 
considered fully the reasons offered, and all the circumstances 
connected with the subject. After mature deliberation, I 
concluded to accept those resignations. But, when this con- 
clusion was come to, it was accompanied by the conviction 
that, I must entirely renew my Cabinet. Its members had 
been invited by me to the stations they occupied, — it had 
come together in great liarmony, and as a UNIT. Under the 
circumstances in which I found myself, I could not but per- 
ceive the propriety of selecting a Cabinet composed of en- 
tirely new materials, as being calculated in tliis respect, at 
least, to command public confidence and satisfy public opin- 
ion. Neither could I be insensible to the fact, that to permit 
two, only, to retire, would be to afford room for unjust mis- 
conceptions and malignant representations concerning the 
influence of their particular presence upon the conduct of 
public affairs. Justice to the individuals whose public spirit 
had impelled them to tender their resignations, also required, 
then, in my opinion, the decision which I have stated; how- 



140 A UNIT FRACTURED — BY MAGIC. 

ever painful to my own feelings, it became necessary that 1 
should frankly make known to you the whole subject.'' The 
President, also, took this opportunity to profess his entire 
satisfaction with the manner in which the Secretary had dis- 
charged the duties of his office. 

Now, it is apparent, that there is a total want of keeping 
between the reasons here assigned and those given by the 
Secretary of State and the Secretary of War. The former 
retired, as he says, because his position was unfavourable to 
his ambition, and his ambition might prove injurious to the 
President; the latter because, he cherished the love of re- 
tirement. But the reason for the dismissal of the remnant, 
was, according to the President, that he might have a Cabi- 
net of entire new materials, which might command public 
confidence and satisfy public opinion; intimating, clearly, 
that such w'as not the character of his present council. 

A duplicate act of this farce was played with Mr. Branch, 
to whom a copy of the last letter to Mr. Ingham, so clear and 
satisfactory of the President's views, was also communicated. 
A copy also, with some variations, was probably sent to Mr. 
Berrien, then absent in Georgia upon business, who, on his 
return to Washington, resigned his office. 

267. The true reason of the dissolution of the Cabinet was 
at length declared in the Globe, in a semi-official statement 
of the 11th of July 1831, in which is the following para- 
graph. "At the succeeding session of Congress, (1831,) 
meetmgs of the friends of Mr, Calhoun took place, with a 
view of addressing the President to remove Major Eaton 
from his councils. Mr. Van Buren was next embraced in 
the denunciation. Arrangements were made in Congress to 
embarrass the measures of the administration in that body. 
The Calhoun Telegraph and the Ingham Sentinel evinced 
their disaffection. The appointment of Mr. Baldwin was de- 
nounced in advance. Remote editors, as has been proved, 
were sounded, in the hope of bringing them out, in opposi- 
tion to the re-election of the President, and finally, Mr. 
Calhoun came out with a horrible plot. WJien this issue was 
made with himself, personally, tiie President found his Cabi- 
net divided, and an entire reorganization was determined 
upon." 

That, the true motives for breaking up the Cabinet, were 
.not those assigned by the President, that, it was an act pre- 
meditated, and that the resignations of Messrs. Van Buren 
ana Eaton were the consequence, and not the cause of the 



A UNIT FRACTURED — BY MAGIC. 141 

determination, we have further evidence in the confessions of 
the President and ihe wily Secretary. 

The President having invited to a private audience one of the 
Secretaries, (Mr. Brancli) whom he was about to dismiss, for the 
purpose of making known to him the new arrangements, on 
which lie had determined, said, with an air of diplomatic cau- 
tion and studied precision, "Sir, I submit to you two letters, 
which I have received from the Secretary of State and the 
Secretary of War, resigning their respective oflices, and ask 
for them your serious consideration." "Sir," replied the as- 
tonished Secretar}^ "I am a plain man, and your friend. Our 
intercourse has been of long duration, and you know, that di- 
plomacy is no part of my character or of yours. Be so good, 
therefore, as to tell me, frankly, what you intend, and what 
you desire of me." " Then, sir, 1 will inform you that I mean 
to re-organize my Cabinet." " Very well, sir, I hope you will 
profit by the change. I have not been your friend for the 
sake of office, and I wish only to be informed, whether my 
conduct, while in your Cabinet, was satisfactory to you." 
"Sir," said the President, "I have no fault to find with you." 
" With this assurance," said the Secretary, "I am contented ; 
but allow me to inquire, who is to be your Secretary of State 1" 
"Mr. Livingston," was the reply. "Who is to take the 
Treasury Department]" "Mr. McLane, now minister in 
England." " Who will occupy the Navy Department]" 
"Mr. Woodbury." "Ancf pray, sir, who is to replace Mr. 
McLane in England]" "Mr. Van Buren." 

Soon after the dissolution of the Cabinet, whilst Mr. Van 
Buren was waiting, at New York, the arrival of Mr. McLane 
from England, he replied to the inquiry of a partisan friend, 
that lie had the offer of the mission to {he Court of St. James, 
but had not yet decided as to the propriety of accepting it. 
His friends, he said, differed as to the policy of his leaving 
the country at that time, there being some arrangements to 
make in the republican party, for future operations — and ob- 
served, that he was anxious to have an mterview with Mr. 
McLane, before departure, should he determine to go. Being 
interrogated, as to the real causes of the dissolution of the 
Cabinet, he answered, that Mrs. Eaton had no agency in the 
matter; but that it was caused more by the conduct of Mr. 
Calhoun and Mr. Ingham, who desired the retirement of 
General Jackson from office at the expiration of the first four 
years of his term of service, and who had endeavoured to 
consummate their designs by traducing the character of a 



142 A UNIT FRACTTRED — BY MAGIC. 

chaste and virtuous woman. To the remark, that he, Mr. 
Van Buren, had managed well to pass unscathed through the 
fiery ordeal, he, laughing-ly, replied, "Yes, I had seen for some 
two or three months the approach of trouble, and that a dis- 
solution of the Cabinet must ensue — the materials being- too 
discordant to continue together in harmony — and to save my- 
self, I thought it better to retire in time, knowing that if 1 
led the way, the rest must follow." 

Had the President taken the ground, at once, that his Cab- 
inet was divided, in relation to his own re-election, and there- 
upon dismissed those who might have been opposed to him, 
or even all its members, he would have acted with that frank- 
ness and good faith which would have commanded respect. 
The public weal, his own peace, required that his Cabinet 
should possess his confidence and his esteem. The want of 
harmony between the members, or between the members and 
himself, was a proper ground for dissolution. But the pre- 
tence, and the manner of breaking up the Cabinet, are dis- 
ingenuous, insincere, false; and savours more of the petty 
intrigue of a chamber maid or valet, — more of Martin Van 
Buren, than of General Jackson. There was no ground for 
the allegation of the want of harmony in the Cabinet upon 
public measures. There had not been a single difference of 
opinion in relation to any act of the administration; nor could 
the members of the Cabinet be justly reproached, at the time 
of the dissolution, with hostility against the re-election of the 
General. If any had participated in complots for this pur- 
pose, they Jiad seen the vanity of the attempt and were shi- 
cerely disposed to support him for another term. Mr. Ing- 
ham solemnly denies having at any period sought to prevent 
the re-election. There was then, no public cause of differ- 
ence, unless the dissonance of their wishes relative to a suc- 
cessor be so considered. But there was, in private and from 
private causes, much ill-blood between some members of the 
Cabinet, and these feelings had extended to the President, 
who most cordially and intensely hated Messrs. Ingham, 
Branch and Berrien, for showing themselves, in private rela- 
tions, refractory subordinates. This portion of the history of 
the administration would have been more germain to the 
Court of Louis XIV. or Louis XV. of France, and the pages 
of a courtier's memoirs, than to an historical sketch of Amer- 
ican politics. We shall endeavour to narrate it, however, 
with republican modesty and reserve, and with the greatest 



A UNIT FRACTUUED — BY MAGIC. 143 

possible brevity. Tlic talc has one merit: it exhibits the 
iniperioiifc; disposition of the President, 

2()8. Tlie lady of General Eaton was not generally re- 
ceived in the social circles of Washington. She was not in- 
vited to the soirees of either Messrs. Ingham, IJranch, or Ber- 
rien; and, in one instance, at the house of some other person, 
she had been treated with marked disapprobation, by the lady 
of a foreign ambassador. The exclusion from the parties of 
the Secretaries, gave ground for a rumour, that they had con- 
spired, by this means, to drive the Secretary of War from the 
Cabinet, and from Washington. The President, who enter- 
tained for Mr. P^aton the most friendly sentiments, became 
the champion of the lady, and resolved to establish her upon 
a respectable footing in the Washington circles, and, to that 
end, to con)pel the Secretaries to receive her at their public 
entertainments. This was an adventure of knight errantry, 
which inexperience alone could have excused. He might 
liave, with greater prospect of success, fought agam his In- 
dian wars, or another British army, than encounter the will 
of ladies on subjects of established proi)riety, or even of eti- 
quette. They, and, perhaps, they, only, could, in such cases, 
oppose a will more indomitable than his own. 

269. Detenuining fo have harmony inliis Cabinet, the Presi- 
dent employed a member of Congress, the friend of all the 
parties, to represent to the " exclusives" his resolution, unless 
they consented to receive the lady of the Secretary of War, 
at their large parties, to remove them from the Cabinet. 
This message was communicated to them, personally, and at 
a meeting appointed for the purpose. The answer was such 
as might be expected from men of moral reputation. They, 
pcomptly refused to suffer the dictation of any one in the gov- 
ernment of their families and the arrangement of their inter- 
course, and braved the threatened penalty, and the anger of the 
"roaring lion," as he was termed by the internuncio. But the 
friends of the President, instructed in the new trait about to 
be introduced into American politics, collected about him, 
and, finally, convinced him, that, the American public would 
not tolerate the prostration of a ministry, because it relused to 
sustain the reputation of a lady. When the ministers assem- 
bled around the President to hear their fate, he had become 
calm, and, instead of pronouncing their exile, spoke of har- 
mony, and solicited their assistance in protecting injured in- 
nocence. The storm of passion had passed away; but its ef- 
fects were not wholly removed. The refractoriness of the 



144 A UNIT FRACTURED — DY MAGIC. 

subordinates ever rankled in the mind of the Chief, and the 
unscrupulous perversion of his power, impaired their respect 
for him, and shook their confidence in the stability of their po- 
sition. Indeed, they have since declared, that, they would 
have made him fully sensible of their indignation, at this pre- 
sumptuous interference with their domestic relations, by 
throwing- up their commissions, only, such a measure was not 
then quite convenient. 

How grateful should the country be, to these kind friends 
of the General, (would that we knew them, that we might 
preserve their names lor history) who turned away his wrath, 
before it had involved the nation in all the horror of foreign 
war. The danger was really imminent. 'J'he wife of a for- 
eign minister had offended the lady of the Secretary at War, 
and the President had resolved to ''send her and her hus- 
band home, and teach him and his master that the vjife of a 
minister of his Cabinet was not to he thus treated, with im- 
punity. This would have been, indeed, a truly royal cause 
of quarrel, but would have looked rather awkward in the an- 
nals of our republic. We were saved, however, historic 
page, and country, from this direful consequence of gallant 
indignation. Laus Deo ! 

270, *' Sweet are the uses of adversity ; 

Which, hke the toad, ugly and venomoji.'^, 
Wears yet a precious jewel in his head." 

So, has Shakspeare sung and philosophy taught, and our 
dismissed ministers, derived improvement from the lesson. 
At least, we have full evidence, that the ex-Secretary of the 
Treasury received full edification from the occasion. In an 
address to his friends, who assembled to receive him, on his 
return, to the shades of New Hope, he said, " I regard the 
moment in which my separation from the public service waa 
determined on, as the most propitious moment of my life; and 
although it might now be difficult to persuade those who par- 
take deeply of the 'prevailing passion for office, of the sincer- 
ity of this declaration, yet,"! perfectly know, that the tinjG 
will come, when it will be readily believed. As to pecuniary 
advantage, (if any tliink of this,) much less labor than I 
should have bestowed on official business, well directed, will 
easily procure something more than a bare subsistence, which 
all know is scarcely afibrded by the salaries at W^ashington. 



\ UNIT IRACTUUED — LV '.lAGIC. 145 

' I can have no cause of resentment, tliorofore, on this account. 
It will not be thought profanity, i Jio))o, to say, the President 
is but njortal; subject to all intirmitics incident to human na- 
ture ; his displeasure or denunciations are not directed by an om- 
niscient eye, nor do they carry with them political or corporeal 
death. And even, if, as he suggested in his correspondence 
with me, of the 20th of April, (1S31) I was intended as a 
sacrifice to propitiate public opinion, for others whom he 
loved, and whom it had severely threatened, that of itself is 
not good cause of resentment. It was not the ancient cus- 
tom, even in idolatrous sacrifices, to select the worst of the 
flock for those purposes. But whatever may have been the 
motive for my removal, I shall enjoy the effect; and I feel 
like a mariner who has safely returned from a long, toilsome 
and somewhat perilous voyage, to receive Ihe joyous greet- 
ings of his con)})anions and friends." 

Again, in his letter to the President, of the 26th of July, 
1831, he remarks; "This {his defence) has been, irresistibly, 
forced upon me, at the moment of my retirement from public 
service, and when satiated with its enjoyments and fortified 
by vivid experience against its allurements, I had fondly 
cherished the hope of spending my days in the quiet of do- 
mestic life, out of the reach of the disturbing conflicts of po- 
litical controversy." » 

That admirable observer, Shakspeare, who, like his own 
Cassius, "looked quite through the deeds of men," has given 
us a parallel, in the Cardinal Wolsey, to the case before us, 
from which we would think Mr. Ingham had borrowed his 
philosophy, did we not know, that it was common to all re- 
formed politicians, and that, the great master, in Wolsey, 
painted a class, and not an individual. 

Crom. How does your giace ? 
IVol. Why well ; 

Never so truly happy, my good Cromwell. 
I know myself Jioto; and I feel within me 
A peace above all earthly dignities, 
A still and quiet conscience. The King has cur'd me, 
I humbly thank his grace; and from these shoulders, 
These ruin'd pillars, out of pity, taken 
A load would sink a navy, too mucii honour : 
O, 'tis a burden, Cromwell, 'tis a burden 
Too heavy for a man that hopes for heaven." 

He might, indeed, should any longing, lingering reminis- 
13 



146 A UNIT FRACTURED — BY MAGIC. 

cence of departed greatness come vipon him, exclaim with 
the same fallen statesman, 

" There was the weight that pulled nie down ; 

O Cromwell, 
The King has gone beyond vie, all my glories 
la that one woman I have lost forever." 

How admirable was this conversion of Mr, Ingham ! No 
feat performed by the General was more meritorious, none 
more difficult, when it is considered that, the besetting sin 
of the convert was lust of office, and to the gratification of 
which, he had devoted the full half of his life. The mali- 
cious, however, may say, that even in the confession there 
are symptoms that the conversion is neither full nor perma- 
nent, and may recur to the distich ; 

"The Devil was sick, the Devil a Saint would be, 
The Devil got well, the Devil a Saint was he." 

But if there be circumstances throwing doubt over the sin- 
cerity of the conversion, Mr. Ingham is entitled to the benefit 
of his refusal of the prostituted mission to Russia. 

We have dwelt upon the case of Mr. Ingham, because he 
was the most conspicuous actor among the aggrieved of the 
deranged Cabinet. We must not, however, dismiss it with- ■ 
out adverting to the personal violence with which he was 
tlireatened, by the ex-Secretary of War, w'hich put in jeop- 
ardy his life, and in which, he accused the President of the 
United States of being an accessary. 

To the citizens of the United States, the whole subject is 
a painful one. They have beheld the administration rent 
asunder by the fierce contentions of their public servants, in 
attempts to prostitute their stations, which should be used for 
the public weal, to the promotion of their private interests,., 
and the affairs of the nation involved in scandalous discussions 
of a lady's reputation. They have been mortified in behold- 
ino- their First Magistrate descending into the coteries of fe- 
male scandal, and, attempting to sustain, by the weight of po- • 
litical authority, one whom the society of the metropolis was 
supposed to reject; displaying a want of consideration for his 
character and station, and a disposition, imperiously and un- 
warrantably, to control those whom he held dependent upon i 
him in the private and most sacred concerns of their domi- 



A UNIT FR\( TIRED — BY MAGIC. 147 

cils, — a stretch of power, paralleled only in the most absolute 
despotism, or in the corruption of a superannuated monarchy. 

271. Happily for Mr. Barry, the abuses in his office, had 
brought his conduct under the examination of the Senate; 
and though it is understood, that, he also tendered his com- 
mission, it was refused, for the very proper reason, that his re- 
tirement at this juncture, might bo deemed a confession of 
malversation, and for the no less cogent reason, that, his effi- 
ciency as a party agent could not be readily supplied. This 
sole fraction of the Union Cabinet was preserved to become 
the leaven of future batches. 

272. The second Cabinet of General Jackson consisted of 
Mr. Livingston, 'Secretary of State; Mr. McLane, Secretary 
of the Treasury; Mr. Cass, Secretary of War; Mr. Wood- 
bury, Secretary of the Navy; and Mr. Taney, Attorney 
General. 



CHAPTER Kl. 

ABASEMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. 

273. Although Mr. Van Buren, like the other ministers, 
had retired, there was a broad difference between his case 
and theirs; his was ^^reculer pour sauler,^'' receding- that he 
might, more surely, make the higher leap; whilst theirs, was, 
"a farewell, a long farewell to all their greatness." In the 
repl}'^, which he prepared for the President, to his letter of 
resignation, he took special care to ai.-nonnce his purpose of 
•being again employed. The President is made to say, "I 
part with you, only, because you yourself have requested me 
to do so, and have sustained that request by reasons strong 
enough to command my assent. I cannot, however, allow' 
the separation to take place, without expressing the hope, 
that this retirement from public affairs, is but temjx)rary; and 
that, if, in any other station, the Government should have oc- 
casion for your services, the value of which has" been so sen- 
sibly felt by me, your consent will not be wanting." 

274. Tiiat letter of resignation, too, lias a very remarkable 
feature, commencing a change in the practice of office-seek- 
ing. In some portions of the country, aspirants to the offices 
of sheriff, county commissioner and constable, are in the prac- 
tice of, publicly and personally, soliciting popular suffrage; 
in others, it is not holden dishonorable to candidates for seats 
in the State Legislatures and Congress, to make public de- 
clarations of their wishes, and a display of their qualifica- 
tions. We have not heard of an instance in which this prac- 
tice has extended to the offxe of Governor; and as for the 
Presidency, it has, upon all hands, been deemed an office of 
too great dignity to be solicited or refused. Mr. Van Buren 
has contrived, however, in liis correspondence with the Pres- 
ident, upon this occasion, not only, to put himself in nomina- 
tion for the office of President, but to obtain the President's 
sanction for his course, and to put hims-elf before the people 
as the appointee of General Jackson. 

"From the moment,'* says Mr. Van Buren, in his letter, 
"of taking my seat in your Cabinet, it has been my anxious 
wish and zealous endeavour to prevent a premature agitation 
of the question of your successor; and, at all events, to dis- 

148 



ABASEMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. 149 

countenance, atid if possible, to repress, the disposition at an 
early day, manifested, to connect my name with that disturb- 
in"- topic. Of the sincerity and constancy of this disposition, 
no'one has had a better opportunity to judge than yourself. 
It has, however, been-unavailingr. Circumstances, not of my 
creation, and altogetlier beyond my control, have given to this 
subject a turn, wliich cannot now be remedied, except by a 
self-disfranchiscmen^ which, even, if dictated by my indi- 
vidual "wishes, could hardly be reconcilable with propriety or 
self-respect." To this reason, General Jackson, as we have 
seen, is made to give his assent, and thereby to approve this 
self-nomination of Mr. Van Biiren for his successor. We 
cannot be mistaken in this construction of the correspondence, 
since it is supported by the unbroken tenor of subsequent 
events. 

275, The hope expressed by the President, that Mr. Van 
Buren would consent to serve in other stations in public 
affairs, was founded on the foregone conclusion that he should 
till the office of minister to the Court of St. James, it being 
resolved before his resignation, that he should succeed Mr. 
M'Lane in that office, and that the latter should become the 
Secretary of the Treasury, in place of Mr. Ingham. To this 
office, Mr. Van Buren was accordingly appointed ; and in the 
course of the summer of 1831, departed tor Europe. 

276. Upon the meeting of Congress, in December, Mr. 
Van Buren was nominated, *with other high officers, to the 
Senate of the United States, for their approbation. An op- 
portunity was thus given to that body to consider and express 
its opinion upon the conduct of Mr. Van Buren, in his late 
office of Secretary of State, and particularly in connection 
with the convention with Great Britain, in relation to our 
trade with her colonies; in which, he was chargeable with 
having abased his country, by humiliaiing and ignominious 
solicitation for favours, which should have been demanded as 
rights, — by an aspersion of the integrity and capacity of the 
(late) administration of his own country, — and by the intru- 
sion of our party differences into our diplomatic correspon- 
dence. Hitherto, whatever party bickerings we may have 
had at home, we had, invariably, presented to foreign powers, 
but one front, in our official communications with them. No 
American administration had, ever before, in its diplomacy, 
debased the national dignity by the indulgence of party ma- 
levolence. In order to understand, fully, this offence, charged 
upon Mr. Van Buren and upon the Jackson administr-tion, it 

13* 



150 ABASEMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Decomes necessary to state, concisely, the question at issue be- 
tween the United States and Great Britain. This is neces- 
sary, also, in another point of view; that we may determine 
upon the merit claimed by that administration in the negotia- 
tion, and its results, which were boasted, without cause, to 
be highly advantageous to the country, and to have been, 
wantonly and unwisely, disregarded, by tlie preceding admin- 
istration. 

277. It has been long the policy of the United States, to 
establish, in her commercial relations with foreign states, the 
principle of entii^ reciprocity. To this end, we have offered, 
by our acts of Congress, that, if any nation will admit our 
vessels into her ports without discriminating duties, we will, 
forthwith, admit her vessels upon the like terras. Several na- 
tions have acceded to this offer, and the principle has been 
incorporated into several treaties. 

278. England refused to agree to terms so equal, until, in 
the year 1815, she was forced to adopt them ; Mr. Hnskis- 
son, her minister, observing, that "after a long struggle to 
counteract the navigation system of America, without in 
any degree, relaxing our own. Great Britain found it neces-. 
sary to adopt the system of reciprocity." But she, expressly, 
excepted her West India Islands from the operation of this 
principle ; long varying her contrivances, with the sole view 
of keeping the trade with those islands in the hands of British 
ship ov/ners, 

279. A contest for this trade had grown up, in the earliest 
stage of our political existence — not that, we should force, 
upon the British Islands, our produce, for their geographical 
position clhnate and artificial institutions rendered it indis- 
pensable to tliem, — so indispensable, that to admit it, their - 
ports were opened, even during the late war with us. But 
the contest was for the carrying trade— for the right of 
transporting our produce in our own ships. It was com- 
menced, immediately, after the acknowledgment of our inde- 
pendence, and was animadverted upon, in the Continental 
Congress, of 1784, as a cause of conferring additional powers 
upon the Confederation, in order to maintain it on our part 
with success. In the first Congress, 1789, Mr. Madison de- 
clared, that he would meet interdict with interdict, " until 
we should be allowed to carry to the West India Islands, in 
our own vessels, the produce of America, which necessity 
compels them to take." And President Washington, in his 
instructions to Mr. Morris, in the same year, says, emphati- 



ABASEMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. 151 

cally ; " Let it be strongly impressed upon your mind, thaf 
the privilege of carrying our own productions, in our own 
vessels to their islands, and bringing, in return, the produc- 
tions of those islands, to our own ports and markets is re- 
garded, here, as of the highest importance." And tiie 12th 
article of Jay's Treaty, which related to the colonial trade, 
was expunged as utterly inadmissable, not having secured 
such right. 

A long but fruitless negotiation ensued. In 1817, the Brit- 
ish attempted to give the trade a circuitous direction, through 
their northern provinces or the island of Bermuda, in British 
bottoms to the exclusion of American vessels. To accomplish 
this, they at first proposed to reserve to themselves, the right 
to vary their imposts, u])on our productions, at pleasure, in 
different colonies ; so that, the same articles might be made 
to pay a higher rate of duty, when transported directly in 
American bottoms, than when circuitously in British. This 
was firmly resisted, and the British, in the negotiations of 
1818, expressly and unqualifiedly abandoned it. It was re- 
linquished, too, by the Acts of Parliament of 1822 and 1825, 
and never renewed until the negotiations of Mr. McLane, 
in 1830. The important negotiations of 1818, it appears 
from the letter of Mr. McLane of 14th of March 1831, 
were wholly unknown to that gentleman, though essential 
to the due performance of his mission. 

The United States, und^r all administrations, except the 
present, steadily adhered to the rule of equity and reciprocity, 
in this trade, which they desired in all branches of commerce. 
They, therefore, opposed exclusion with counter exclusion, 
restriction with restriction, and met every advance towards 
freedom of trade with correspondent indulgence. The im- 
portance of protecting the principle being always considered 
as far greater than the value of its operation in this particu- 
lar branch. 

The proceedings on the part of the English and American 
Governments, upon this subject, had, in 31 arch 1823, resulted 
in the following provisions. 

1. Certain enumerated British colonial ports were opened 
for direct intercourse with the United States. 

2. Produce of such colonies, respectively, (not otherwise 
prohibited) might be brought from such ports to the United 
States in British and American vessels equally. 

3. Whenever discriminating duties ceased to be levied on 
our vessels, arriving at those ports, British vessels, from the 



152 ABASEMENT OF TUE UNITED STATES. 

same ports, might, in like manner, be exempted from sucJi 
duty in our ports. 

4. Such articles, as British vessels, coming from the open- 
ed ports, might take back with them, American vessels 
might equally carry from the United States to the opened 
ports: British vessels giving bond to land their cargoes 
there. 

5. Articles of the growth or produce of the colonial pos- 
sessions, respectively, and none other, to be brought by ves- 
sels of either nation, from the opened ports to the United 
States, and only by the direct voyage. 

6. No British vessel to carry goods from the United Slates 
to the opened ports, except such as had come from one of those 
ports. No American vessel to bring goods from one of those 
ports to the United States, unless she had gone direct from the 
United States. British vessels, from those ports to the United 
States, to carry no goods from the United States, unless back 
to such ports: and American vessels to carry nothing from 
the opened ports, elsewhere, than back to the United States. 

The Act of Congress embracing these principles, framed 
with great care, and passed almost unanimously, was a dis- 
tinct declaration of the American notion of reciprocity, and 
in effect, an offer to the British, to open the doors wide, to 
hold them ajar, or close them entirely, as the board of trade, 
at London, might prefer. 

In this state of affairs, the British Government resorted, 
to a renewed experiment of diplomacy. Mr. Huskisson 
and Mr. Stratford Canning were appointed, specially, to 
conduct a negotiation with us, and were met, on our part, by 
Mr. Rush, with instructions prepared by Mr. Adams. In 
the discussion, one great point was gained. The correct- 
ness of the American principle was admitted by the British 
Government ; and its readiness to make an arrangement, on 
the basis of a just reciprocity, declared. But, this just re- 
ciprocity was as difficult to settle, as it has been, among our- 
selves, to determine, what is a judicious tariff'. Some of 
the British notions of reciprocity were rather odd. 

The act of Congress, of 1823, required the admission of 
American vessels into British colonial ports, on payment of 
no, other, or, higher, duties than British vessels, from the 
United States, or elsewhere; this word ^^ elsewhere'''' com- 
prehended England, Nova Scotia and all other British posses- 
sions. The British commissioners contended, that, the trade 
between England and her colonies, and between any two 



ABASEMENT OF THE I'NITED STATES. 153 

colonies was to be considered as a coasting trade and, there- 
fore, British vessels ought to be allowed to go free from Lon- 
don, or Halifax or Jamaica, (for example,) us American ves- 
sels could sail between New York and I'hiladelphia. This 
idea being novel, time was taken for its consideration, and 
the negotiation was suspended. The effect of this word 
^^ elsewhere ^^ was to require, that our produce should not be 
taxed higher in the West India Islands, than the productions 
of the British northern provinces or other dominions. This 
was tvaivcd by our government in 1828. But the principle 
that our nroduce should be taxed no more, when transported 
in our own vessels, tlian wiion in British botton)s was never 
conceded by us. In this posture, Mr. Adams, when he became 
President, found the subject. 

230. By the admission of this view of a coasting trade, 
extending round the globe, the principle of reciprocity was 
not necessarily affected, nor did the admission of British ves- 
sels from British ports into British ports, without duty, re- 
quire, by any reciprocity, the imposition of discriminating 
ilutie-r, upon such vessels m our ports; but the value of the 
trade would be seriously affected, if British vessels might 
carry, from Nova Scotia to the West India Islands, free of 
dutv, carcroes similar to such as we should send under the 
burden of a heavy impost. Against this injury, INlr. Adams 
sought to provide ; and in^ructions, to that purpose, were 
g"iven to Mr. Kino- ; but before he reached London, the British 
Government had by act of Parliament changed their whole 
system of colonial trade. 

This act, (July 5, 1825) opened their West India Islands 
to the commerce of all nations, so far as the carrying trade 
was concerned, under certain restrictions and with dis- 
criminations in favour of British shipping — upon condition, 
also, in regard to nations having colonies, that they admitted 
British commerce to their colonies; and in regard to nations 
without colonies, that they should place the commerce of 
Great Britain, and all her foreign possessions, in their ports, 
upon the footing of the most favoured nations. This, and a 
simultaneous act were voluminous, complex, and so difficult 
of apprehension, that when Mr. Vaughan, the British minis- 
ter at Washington, was officially called upon to say, whether, 
under them, discrindnating duties would be levied upon 
American vessels, he declared he could not tell; nor was our 
application in England attended with more success. Mr. 
Canning was ill and, subsequently, Mr. King, our minister, 



154 ABASEMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. 

was disabled for service, from the same cause.* Here was a 
new difficulty. We were required, as a preliminary condi- 
tion for participatino- in whatever advantages these new acts 
might give, that we should put Great Britain and all he pos- 
sessions upon the footing of the most favoured nation ; bat 
with several nations, all discriminatingduties were reciprocally 
abolished, and treaties were in progress in which still greater 
freedom of intercourse was to be mutually allowed. To ad- 
mit British vessels to such advantages without any mutuality 
would have been alike imjust and absurd. Mr. Adams' ad- 
ministration did not accept of the offer for the reasons we 
have stated, and, also, because it was never officially commu- 
nicated to it ; — because, only a few months before, a negotia- 
tion on the same subject had been suspended, with an under- 
standing that it might be resumed — and because, it was very 
desirable to arrange the whole matter, by treaty, in order to 
secure, if we could, the admission of our products into the 
British islands for consumption, as well as the admission of 
our vessels. 

Mr. Van Buren Was perfectly aware of this, and in part of 
his instructions puts the case in a just light. " If," says he, 
"it is meant by tliis condition that the commerce, &c. of Great 
Britain, shall be gratuitously and generally placed on the 
same footing with those of the most favoured nations, by 
granting to them privileges, which we allow to other na- 
tions for equivalents received, it would be wholly inadmissi- 
ble." 

Soon after, at the session of Congress of 1825-6 it was pro- 
posed, but not agreed upon, to repeal our discriminating du- 
ties; and Mr. Gallatin, who succeeded Mr. King, was in- 
structed to inquire of the British ministers whether, if we 
repealed all restrictions, admitted the English idea of coast- 
ing trade, and abolished all discriminating duties, they would 
meet us with corresponding regulations: — In a word, whether 
the direct trade would be open to the vessels of both nations, 
without alien duties, on either side: American vessels, de- 
parting from the islands, going any where, except to other 
British ports: British vessels, departing from the United 
States, going an7j where, except to American ports: And 
whatever goods might be carried by British vessels from our 
ports to the colonial ports might equally be carried in Amer- 

* Discriuiinatiiig duties were however actually levied, on 
American vessels, in some of the British ports. 



ABASEMENT OF THE INITED STATLS. l').") 

ican vessels. This differed from llic former proposition; 
leaving the British to impose what rate of duties Ihty niiylit 
think proper, on their own vessels, coming into the colonial 
ports from other colonial ports, or from England. 1'lie {)rin- 
ciple of reciprocity was perfectly guarded, and the utnjost 
freedom of commercial intercourse contemplated by this pro- 
posal. 

Before the arrival of Mr. Gallatin, however, the British 
(Government had taken new, almost hostile, ground against 
us; having, under pretence that we had refused to put them 
on the footing of tlie most favoured nation, by an order ot 
council, closed their colonial ports, absolutely, against the 
commerce of the United States, whilst they were kept open 
to all other nations. But as this position was not defensible, 
inasmuch, as other nations had also refused to put British 
commerce on the ground of that of the most favoured nation, 
the British minister took the old ground; declaring, that re- 
ciprocity had nothing to do with the matter; — that all trade 
with colonies was a mere indulgence and a boon to other na- 
tions, to be regulated by the irresponsible will of the mother 
country alone : and he refused to make this subject one of 
further negotiation. 

In the session of 1826-7, the course of the American Ex- 
ecutive was fully sustained by both Houses of Congress. 
General Smith, who had led»a previous effort to repeal the 
discriminating duties, disavowed any intention to censure the 
administration, and declared, distinctly, that the omission to 
act on the British proposal, contained in the Act of Parlia- 
ment, 5th July, 1825, had been the omission of Congress, en- 
tirely. The British Government pertinaciously adhering to 
their determination not to treat upon this subject, the inter- 
dict, upon our part, upon British vessels from interdicted ports, 
'ibllowed of course, under the provisions of the act of 1823, 
which it was the duty of the Executive to carry into effect 

281. The direct trade, therefore, between the United States 
and the British colonies continued to be suspended. The con- 
sequences, however, were much more injurious to the British 
commerce than to ours. The effect with us was, only, to substi- 
tute different channels for an exchange of commodities indis- 
pensable to the colonies, and profitable to a numerous class of 
our fellow citizens. Neither the export.?, navigation nor rev- 
enue, of the United States suffered diminution. The colonies 
paid more dearly for the necessaries of life, which their Gov- 
ernment burdened with charges of double voyages, freight 



156 ABASEMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. 

and otlier charges ; and the profits of our exports were some- 
what impaired, and more injuriously transferred from one por- 
tion of oar citizens to another. The evil effects of the trade 
upon English commerce became known to the ministers, who 
declared their conviction, that the interdict had been injuri- 
ous to the colonies, without being useful to the rest of the 
empire. 

282. In this state of the case, the administration of Mr. 
Adams closed, and General Jackson came into office. During 
the presidential canvass, the condition of our commerce with 
the British colonial ports, became a favourite theme of elec- 
tioneering rhetoric, and Mr. Adams and his administration 
Vv'ere charged, (how falsely we have seen) with having lost 
the West India trade; as if Mr. Adams had found the United 
States in the quiet unrestricted enjoyment of commerce, the 
advantages of which he had contrived or suffered, to be lost, 
through sheer malignity or folly ; and as the case was some- 
v.'hat complex, and understood by few, there was little diffi- 
culty in keeping up the delusion and fostering the ill will it 
had contributed to excite. 

2S3. It was a point of policy, in the new administration, to 
make the most of such an opportunity. Hence, the instruc- 
tions, by Mr. Van Buren, were prepared, manifestly, for 
effect, on the mind of the President, and on the Jackson par- 
ty, throughout the country. To gain this point, even the most 
humiliating means were acceptable. The measures of the 
preceding administrations were condemned, though approved 
and sustained by the assembled councils of the nation. 
The country was declared to be in the wrong, and our repre- 
sentative instructed to solicit, as an inferior and a suppliant, 
that, as a boon, which the nation had rejected. 

The Government of the United States was declared by Mr. 
V-an Buren to have been in the wrong ; " 1st. In too long and 
too tenaciously resisting the right of Great Britain to impose 
protecting duties in her own colonies; 2dly, in not relieving 
her vessels from the restriction of returning direct from the 
United States to the colonies, after permission had been given, 
by Great Britain, to our vessels, to clear out from the colonies 
to any other than a British port; and 3dly, in omitting to ac- 
cept the terms offered by the Act of Parliament of July, 1825. 
It is without doubt," continues the Secretary of State, "to 
the combined operation of these causes that we are to at- 
tribute the British interdict. You will, therefore, see the 
propriety of possessing yourself fully of all the explanatory 



ABASEMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. 157 

and mitigating circumstances cor\nQC\.Qi[ with tliem, tliatyou 
maybe enabled to obviate, as tar as practicable, the unfavour- 
able impression which they have produced." 

Atler stating the condition of the trade, and exaggeratintr, 
greatly, the disadvantages of its operation on the interests of 
the United States, Mr. Van Buren proceeds, "It is the 
anxious wish of the President to put an end to a state of 
things so injurious to all parties. He is willing to regulate 
the trade in question upon terms of reciprocal advantage, and 
to adopt for that purpose those which Great Britain has her- 
self elected, and which are prescribed by Act of Parliament, 
of 5th July, 1825." Among the arguments, to induce the 
Britisii Government to grant this favour, is the following, in 
which, our party dissentions are exhibited to them, and the 
conduct of the Government of the United States represented, 
as the act of a party which the nation had judged and con- 
demned, and the present administration as another party, fa- 
vourable to Great Britain. 

"If," says the patriotic Secretary, "the omission of this 
Government to accept of the terms proposed, when, hereto- 
fore, offered, be urged as an objection to their adoption now, 
it will be your duty to make the British Government sensible 
of the injustice and inexpediency of such a course. 

" The opportunities which you have derived from a participa- 
tion in our councils, as well aaiother sources of information, will 
enable you to speak with confidence (as far as you may deem 
it proper and useful so to do) of the respective parts taken by 
those to ichom the administration of this Government is now 
committed, in relation to the course heretofore pursued upon 
the subject of the colonial trade. Their vieivs of the point 
have been suhnitted to the people of the United States ; and 
the councils by ivhich your conduct is noio directed, are the 
result of the judgment expressed by the only earthly tribu- 
nal to which the late administralion was amenable for its acts. 
It should be sufficient, that the claims set up by them, and 
which caused the interruption of the trade in question, have 
been explicitly abandoned by those who first asserted them, 
and are not revived by their successors.* If Great Britain 
deems it adverse to her interests to allow us to participate in 
the trade with her colonies, and finds nothing in the exten- 
sion of it to others to induce her to apply the same rule to us, 
6he will, we hope, be sensible of Uie propriety of placing her 

* This was wholly untrue, 
14 



158 ABASEMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. 

refusal on these grounds. To set up the ads of the late ad- 
inini-st ration, as the cause of forfeiture of privileges ivhich 
icoidd otherwise be extended to the people of the United 
States, would, under existing- circumstances, be unjust in itself, 
and could not fail to excite their deepest sensibility. The tone 
of feeling-, which a course so unwise and untenable is calcu- 
lated to produce, w'ould, doubtless, be greatly aggravated by 
the conscientiousness, that Great Britain has, by order in 
Council, opened her colonial ports to Russia and France, not- 
withstanding a similar omission, on their part, to accept the 
terms offered by the act of July, 1825." 

" You cannot press this view of the subject too earnestly 
upon the consideration of the British ministry. It has bear- 
ings and relations that reach beyond the immediate question 
under discussion." 

284. There is not, perhaps, in the history of diplomacy, a 
parallel for these instructions. The minister is sent, to con- 
fess that his Government had been in the wrong, to declare 
that, the agents who had been auxiliary to the wrong, had 
been condemned and discarded, and to -solicit for a party, just 
come into power, a favour which they merited from their 
kind feelings to Great Britain. 

285. Such a course, and such arguments, might be per- 
mitted to almost any man, rather than to Mr. Van Buren; 
for, he not only knew, but averred, distinctly, what propriety 
in this very case of diplomacy re(juired. In discussing the 
subject, in Senate, 24th February, 1627, he remarked ; 

" In a Government like ours, founded on freedom of thouofht 
and action, imposing no necessary restraints, and calling into 
exercise the highest energies of the mind, occasional differ- 
ences of opinion are not only to be expected, but to be de- 
sired. But, this conflict of opinion should be confined to sub- 
jects which concern ourselves. In the collisions which may 
arise between the United States and a foreign power, it is 
our duty to present an unbroken front. Domestic differ- 
ences, if the}'^ tend to give encouragement to unjust preten- 
sions, should be extinguished or deferred; and the cause 
of our Government must be considered as the cause of our 
countryy Again; " The humiliating spectacle of a foreign 
government speculating for the advantage which it may de- 
rive from our dissensions, will, I trust, never again be the re 
proach of the American people." 

And as the alleged ground of the censure, in the instruc- j 
tiohs, was that the late administration had not at once adopt- ' 



ABASEMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. 159 

ed Mr. Canning's views of the subject, tlie following passage 
from the same speech, is yet more condemnatory of Mr. Van 
Burcn's course ; for, said he, " If we direct our attention to 
the ground which Mr, Canning has assumed, there cayi be, on 
this side of the Atlantic, no difference of opinion. It is inde- 
fensible in its principle, and unjust in its application.^^ 

Tile propositions with which Mr. McLane was charged, 
were identical, or, in his own phrase, coincident, with those 
proffered by Mr. Gallatin, and which had been rejected; but, 
the style in which they were respectively made, was essen- 
tially ditJerent. Mr. McLane went to the extent of his in- 
structions, and his humility and deference towards the Britisii 
authority, obtained for him, in the court circles, the charac- 
ter, if not of an able man, at least, of a '■'■good felloiv,^'' — the 
least enviable reputation, we should think, a diplomatist should 
desire. 

In the most prolix of all diplomatic addresses on record, he 
speaks of the reasonableness of his demands, prays for a de- 
cision — solicits the earliest convenient answer — regrets that 
ancient prejudices, — admits that the measures of the United. 
States had contributed to produce the present evil — has no 
disposition to deny the injurious effects on the commercial en- 
terprize of his country — trusts to be excused for recurring to 
some of his own arguments — calls this, his application for an 
early decision — speaks of/«ro«r expected — of the pretensions 
of the American Government or rather (for his phrase is even 
worse) of American pretensions, advanced in previous years, 
but now disclaimed by him; and of the improvident legisla- 
tion; asks that the United States may be permitted to con- 
tribute supplies to the Islands — begs leave further to say, &c., 
and hopes to be excused for asking Lord Aberdeen, to con- 
sider, &.C. — Hopes for a favourable decision, and repeats his 
deep solicitude for the result. And, instead of conforming 
literally to the most offensive portion of his instructions, put- 
ting the present application, and past omission, upon party 
grounds, he adopts phrases not applicable to the conduct of a 
few individuals, but declaring, that the claims advanced in 
justification of the conduct (f the United States, had been 
abandoned, &c. There are other strongly offensive points 
in Mr. McLane's correspondence, but our business is not, at 
present, with him; and he may, perhaps, find a shield in his 
instructions. 

Besides these, of the instructions, other humiliating means 
of caiolerie were put in use. In his Congressional Message 



160 ABASEMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. 

of 1829, the President was made to say, of the British Gov- 
ernment: " Distinguished alike in ^eace and in war, every 
THING in the condition and history of that country is calcu- 
lated to command our respect." No President had ever said 
any thing like this. The Quarterly review could say no 
more, and would not say so much. It is almost universally 
admitted that some incidents in the history of England might 
be forgotten, without detriment to the national character. 
Mr. McLane was instructed to communicate this adulation, 
with a view to help the negotiation. " It is to be hoped," 
says Mr. Van Buren, "that the President's message will aid 
the liberal views which the principal members of the British 
Cabinet are understood to entertain," &-c. 

286. But, up to May, 1830, all these, and other efforts 
were useless. On the 27th of that month, the President by 
a confidential communication, asked Congress to place Jiis 
propositions in the shape of a law, which having been drawn 
up under the inspection of the Cabinet, was presented by Mr. 
Cambreleng, the known adjective of Mr. Van Buren. In re- 
commending the bill Mr. C. declared, that, it "contained no 
new principle," but corresponded, precisely, with the instruc- 
tions of JMr. Clay to Mr. Gallatin ; and with this understand- 
ing the bill passed almost, unanimously, in both Houses; and, 
thus, whatever may have been the pretensions or concessions 
of the former administration, it is manifest that by this act, 
they were approved and ratified by Congress, and recommend- 
ed tor permanent adoption by the fiercest enemies of Mr. Clay 
and Mr. Adams. But, notwithstanding Congress had thus 
taken the negotiation into their own hands and determined to 
renew the propositions of Mr. Clay, maintaining the princi- 
ple of reciprocity with the utmost strictness, that principle 
was surrendered, and the law frustrated. 

287. Mr. Cambreleng's act provided, that when the Presi- 
dent should be satisfied; 1. That the British would open 
their colonial ports; 2. That American vessels and their car^ 
goes might enter them, free from alien duties ; 3. That such* 
vessels might carry to such ports, from the United States, any 
articles which might be imported in a British vessel, from the 
United States, into such ports; 4. That American vessels 
might export, from British colonial ports, any article, export- 
able, therefrom, in a British vessel, and to any country, other 
than the British dominions; and 5. That the commercial in- 
tercoure of the United States with all the other parts of the 
British dominions, remain on a footing not less favourable to 



ABASEMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. IGl 

the United States than before; — Then 1. The ports of the 
United States should be opened to British vessels and their 
cargoes from the colonial ports, free from alien duties; 2. 
British vessels might import into, and export from the United 
States any articles, as American vessels; 3. The acts of 1818, 
1320 and 1823 should be suspended or repealed; 4. And Bri- 
tish vessels, from British North American ports, might be ad- 
mitted to entry in our ports. 

This act was described by Mr. McLane as "a voluntary 
and leading step, in the conciliating policy of the two na- 
tions, taken in disdain of the restraints of tbrm," &c. But, 
the British ministers would not trust to our pledge, that our 
ports should be opened, when the British Government should 
have given the "satisfactory evidence" referred to in our act 
of Congress; they required that our ports should be ac- 
tually opened, before their Government took any decided 
step; — But further, they insisted on the actual surrender of 
the principle of reciprocity, and they obtained both. 

288. The American policy, and all our measures conform- 
ed to it, contemplated a rule of reciprocity, and, as indispen- 
sable, that American and English vessels should sail, from our 
ports to the West Indies, with perfect equality as to the car- 
goes they might carry; that is, taking cargoes of American 
or foreign goods, or mixed, or both. One of the conditions 
of the act of Congress of 1830, was, "That the vessels of the 
United States may import into the said colonial possessions, 
from the United States, any article or articles, which could 
be imported in British vessels, into the said possessions from 
the United States." But, in a spirit of unexampled subser- 
viency, our minister agreed, that, the act of Congress should 
be so construed, despite its manifest import — as to deny to 
American vessels the right to carry foreign goods or mixed 
cargoes, and yet to allow that privilege to British vessels. 
Thus surrendering the principle which had been steadily 
maintained since 1739, and audaciously nullifying the act of 
Congress. There was no oversight in this; it was distinctly 
seen, and an attempt was made to excuse it; Mr. McLane 
alleging; "the difference cannot be an object of much impor- 
tance. It will generally be our interest, as it is that of every 
other nation, to allow the exportation of its surplus foreign 
produce, in the vessels of any other country." That is, that 
the carrying trade, the employment of our own ships, and the 
advantages of assorted cargoes, were of no importance. If 

14* 



162 ABASEMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. 

such points as these can be misunderstood, merchants should 
be our diplomates. 

The privilege we have thus obtained does not depend upon 
treaty, or any species of compact, obligatory on Great Britain. 
The operation of an Act of Parliament which has been ex- 
tended to our intercourse with the British Colonies, may be 
repealed without the violation of good faith, to-morrow. The 
arrangement was formed by diplomatic letters which were 
not submitted for the approbation of the Senate. 

289. The result has been, that the advantageous trade 
hitherto enjoyed through the neutral islands has been lost; 
the tonnage employed in the West India trade from the 
United States greatly diminished, and the object of Great 
Britain, to supply her West India Islands by her North Amer- 
ican colonies, instead of by the United States, has been, by 
our folly, promoted. The mode by which this is done, is by 
imposing on American produce, carried in Ameiican vessels 
— of course by the direct voyage — such duties, as are, in 
effect, prohibitory ; and at the same time permitting such pro- 
duce, to be carried to the North American colonies, free of 
duty, or slightly charged, and, thence free, and in British ves- 
sels, only, to the West India Islands. Our gain, from this 
arrangement, would seem to be, the principle of direct inter- 
course with the British West India Islands — in Empty 
Ships. 

The effect is rendered but too apparent, by the report of 
Mr. McLane, in March, 1832, upon the call of the Senate ; 
from which it is demonstrable, that during the year 1831, 
there were in the intercourse of this country with the British, 
Swedish and Danish islands, and the Northern provinces, 
entries 156,776 tons of American shipping, and 110,899 of 
foreign, (nearly all British); and of departures, 166,134 
American tons and 110,899 of British or foreign. In the pre- 
ceding year, 1830, before the arrangement of Mr. Van Bu- 
ren, the American tonnage, in the same trade, was, of entries, 
204,416, and of foreign, but 5,842; of departures, American 
199,476, and of foreign, but 16,360— the American tonnage 
having fallen off nearly 25 per cent, and the British having 
increased nearly 2000 per cent. 

290. The English press distinctly recognized the advan- 
tages the British nation had gained; avowing "that, while 
the trade with the United States was indirect, the navigation 
was in the hands of the Americans, and that the British Gov- 
ernment in concluding the treaty with that of America have 



ABASEMENT OF THE VNITED STATES. 16ii 

forced the trade from American hands into those of Britisli 
ship owners. Tlie British Government appears to have had 
another object in view, — namely, that, of imposing- such addi- 
tional duties on the direct trade to the West Indies, with cer- 
tain exceptions, as in effect to be prohibitory. By this means 
the United States' produce is fo^ced into the North American 
colonies, whence it is transported in British bottoms, duty 
free, to the West Indies." 

"Tlie most important point," continues the English writer, 
"secured by this new arrangement, is the carrying trade. 
British vessels may now proceed from any part of his Majes- 
ty's dominions direct to the United States ; there load a full 
cargo, either for the West Indies, or via the provinces, as the 
nature of the cargo may invite, thus completing the whole 
voyage, a portion of which only, American vessels would be 
able to perform. This also embraces the privilege of taking 
debenture (foreign) goods, which could not take place in 
American vessels, they being confined to the produce of their 
States alone." 

In confirmation of these statements, which were taken 
from the St. Christopher Gazette, and a London paper, and 
sent to New York by an American siiip-master, we give his 
letter. 

St. Kitts, March 15, 1832. 

" Gentlemen — I send you the enclosed, to show that our 
commerce with the British Islands will soon dwindle to no- 
thing as regards our shippiijg; the carrying trade is lost to 
thern. I have been to all the windward Islands with a car- 
go of flour, pork, beef, candles, soap, &c. and could not sell 
one single article of my cargo. VVherever I have come, I 
have had British vessels beforehand, importing the same arti- 
cles, duty free, and my cargo I shall have to land at St. Barts 
or St. Thomas." 

291. Of the disposition of Mr. Van Buren, as an executive 
officer, to dispense with, to disobey the laws, we may cite 
his letter of the 5th Oct. 1830, to Mr. McLane, relative to 
this subject He assures the minister, that the construction 
of Lord Aberdeen and himself, by which the reciprocity in 
the export of foreign goods required by our act of 1830 was 
abandoned, "was adopted without reserve;" and adds; "The 
President has derived great satisfaction from the candour and 
liberality which has characterized his majesty's ministers 
throughout the negotiation, and particularly in not suffering 



164 ABASEMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. 

the INADVERTENCIES of OUT legislation, attributable to the 
haste and confusion of the closing scenes of the session, to 
defeat or delay the adjustment." 

292. Let us forget, for one moment, if it be possible, this 
arrog-ant dispensation of the law of the land, by the Executive, 
on the ground, that one of its most important and plainest 
provisions was an inadvertency — a construction which if 
given by the Supreme Court, would h&ve filled the country 
with just and unbounded indignation, and let us ask, what 
was, in truth, the fact? This very provision so annulled, was 
in the bill of 1827 which 'passed the House of Representa- 
tives, — is the same as Mr. Aladison's proposition in 1790, and 
Mr. Clay's instruction of 1826 — was contained m the act 
of 1830, as originally reported by Mr. Cambreling — and which 
Mr. Van Buren, in communicating it to Mr. McLane, in 
June 1830, characterized, "as a solemn public movement on 
our part." — Yet he afterwards lays the same at the foot of 
the British throne, thanking his Majesty for concurring in a 
disregard of its enactment, and offering in excuse for its in- 
advertencies the ^^ haste and confusion" of the National 
Legislature. What language is this, for an American States- 
man, and what a picture is here to be exhibited to the eye 
of British royalty of the dignity and deliberation of a repub- 
lican — an American, Congress! 

293. The pretensions of the American Government, as 
Mr. Van Buren, factiously, and in the spirit of an English 
partisan, called them, were, that the produce of the United 
States should be admitted, into the British West Indies on the 
same terms as similar produce of the British American con- 
tinental possessions, without which equality our produce 
could not maintain, in those islands, a fair competition with 
the produce of Canada, but would flow from the western 
parts of New York, and the northern parts of Pennsylvania 
and Ohio into Canada ; aggrandizing Alontreal and Quebec 
and giving employment to British shipping to the prejudice 
of the canals of New York, the port of New York and 
American shipping. And the evils which were foreseen 
have been realized. Our produce passes into Canada, en- 
riches her capitals and nourishes British navigation. Our 
own wheat is transported from the western parts of New 
York, into Canada, there manufactured and thence transport- 
ed in British ships, in the form of Canadian flour, thus de- 
priving us of the privilege of manufacturing our own grain. 
And when the produce of the United States, shipped from 



i ABASEMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. 165 

the Atlantic port?, arrives at tlie British West Indies, it is 
unable, in consequence of the heavy duties with which most 
of it is burdened, to sustain a competition with British pro- 
duce freely admitted. The policy of the British Government 
to obtain possession of our West India trade, by discriminating 
duties, was developed, within a month after the arrangement 
made with Mr. McLane. And we liave tlie mortification to 
behold that gentleman remonstrating against the passage of 
an act of Parliament designed to promote it. His remon- 
strance was' vain — for the right to remonstrate was abandon- 
ed by the arrangement. 

294. Burdened with a deep offence against the dignity of 
his country, Mr. Van Buren counted highly, too highly, upon 
the effect of party discipline, when he ventured to solicit the 
approbation of the Senate of the United States, to his ap- 
pointment as minister to any foreign power, and particularly, 
to that, at whose feet he had abased the nation, and whose 
favour to party interest he had attempted to gain. Our his- 
tory abounds with instances of high minded men who have 
surrendered much of propriety to the exactions of party 
spirit. But we knew not a single case, before the present, 
in which, partisans have sought the countenance of foreign 
nations. How then could Mr. Van Buren expect, that, the 
Senate of the United States, the special guardian of the na- 
tional honour, in our foreign relations, should become a party 
to liis humiliating deeds] And yet, it would seem that his es- 
timate of the influence of that selfishness on which his party 
was founded, was not loosel3> made ; since that body was al- 
most equally divided on the confirmation of his nomination. 
To the weight of party he added another bias to the discre- 
tion of the Senate ; leaving the country before the session, 
and imposing upon it the responsibility of recalling a minis- 
ter, at the cost, to the state, of his outfit. This step was purely 
one of party tactics. It was not called for by any reason of 
state policy. No negotiation was pending which required 
the presence of a minister with full powers at the English 
court. England was represented here, by a Charge d'affaires. 
We had a diplomatic agent there, of equal grade, and the 
relations between the two nations might have remained in 
this equal condition, until the annual meeting of Congress, 
when the advice of the Senate could have been asked before 
the public chest had been opened for the outfit, and salary 
of a minister. But he should have considered the effect of 
this motive as very doubtful. Many members of Senate 



16Q, ABASEMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. 

were disposed to deny the right of the Executive to fill 
vacancies in office which were created by himself during the 
recess of the Senate ; and knowing, that party motives pre- 
vailed over economical ones in the recall of Mr. Barbour and 
almost all of our foreign ministers in 1829, he should have 
deemed it possible, that if large sacrifices could be thus made 
to party, a small one might be made to patriotism. He might 
also have supposed that the moral effect at home and abroad 
to be produced by the rejection would far out weigh any 
small pecuniary saving, or even any advantage which might 
be derivable from his negotiation. 

295. The nomination of Mr. Van Buren was rejected in 
Senate, upon the ground, distinctly put, that he, the Secre- 
tary of Slate, for the United States of America, had shown 
a manifest disposition to establish a distinction between his 
country and his party ; to place that party above the country ; 
to make interest, at a foreign court, for that party, rather than 
for the country ; to persuade the English ministry, and tlie 
English monarch, that, they had an interest in maintaining 
in the United States the ascendency of the party to which 
he belonged. Other political sins of the ex-secretary were 
reviewed at this period, and none were more severely re- 
proved, than the quarrel he had caused between the Presi- 
dent and Vice President, the dispersion of the first Cabinet, 
and the introduction of the odious system of proscription for 
the exercise of elective franchise into the Government of 
the United States — a system drawn from the worst period of 
the Roman Republic, making the offices, honours and dignities 
of the people, prizes to be won, booty to be gained, at every 
presidential election; producing contests, that would be in- 
tolerable, and which must result in inexorable despotism. 

296. We know, that General Jackson has assumed the re- 
sponsibility of the highly objectionable portions of the instruc- 
tions and averred that, they were dictated by him to Mr. 
Van Buren. To have done less would have stultified him- 
self and confirmed the opinion of some of his friends who 
defend the President on the ground that he had not read the 
instructions. The President may have dictated them, but it 
was, as the oracle gives responses, uttering the words 
that have been supplied to it. But as Mr. Van Buren has 
a freedom of will, for the use of which he is morally re- 
sponsible, he cannot escape, by casting his sins upon the 
President, and his friends betray his cause when they cow- 
ardly place him behind this flimsy shield. 



CHAPTER XII. 

VIEAVS or THE rROTECTIVE SYSTEM. 

297. We have had occasion to consider, and, we trust, have 
established, the constitutionality of the tariff system for the 
"protection of domesiic industry. In combatting this system, 
tlie southern section of the Atlantic States, abandoning the 
'opinion that it is hostile to the letter of the Constitution, zeal- 
ously maintained, that it conflicted with its spirit, violating 
.'it, by perverting the letter to objects for which it was not de- 
signed, and inflicted upon them the most grievous evils. 

'298. Whilst the higli revenue was requisite to the speedy 
extinction of the public debt, these evils, fancied or real, were 
submitted to; impatiently, to be sure, but yet submitted to. 
JUit when, by a near extmguisiiment of the debt, revision of 
the revenue laws became necessary, the opponents to the pro- 
tecting system assumed new vigour, and resorted to measures 
of the most dangerous tendency. 

j 299. All parties were aware, that, with the extinction of 
j the debt, the revenue must be diminished. The people would 
inot bear the extraction, from their pockets, of some Um or 
I twelve millions of dollars, annually, beyond the wants of the 
• Government; and, therefore, flot the reduction, but the man- 
ner of reduction, became the subject of animated contest. 
The friends of the American System sought this object by the 
abolition of the duties on imports, which did not rival the 
; manufactures of the United States, whilst they proposed to 
retain a revenue competent to a liberal prosecution of pub- 
i lie improvements: Its enemies claimed, that, the reduction 
lof duty should, eventually and speedily, fall alike upon all 
i imports; that the revenue should be closely graduated to the 
I indispensable wants of the Government; and that the system 
I of Internal Improvement, long and ardently cherished by the 
i United States, should be wholly abandoned. 

300. So deeply interesting had this subject become, that 
' conventions of the friends of the several parties had been 
; holden long before the assembling of the Congress at whicii 
'. the subject would be discussed, to consult on the means 
of best promoting their respective causes, and of proclaiming 
their views to the nation. The friends of free trade, from 
j 1G7 



168 VIEWS OF THE rROTECTIVE SYSTEM. 

every portion of the Union, assembled at Philadelphia, and 
«hose of the tariff protection, at New York. The shape in 
which the question came before Congress, in 1831-2, was, 
distinctly, whether the Protective System should be, perma- 
nently, established in the country. Measures promotive of 
the views of its friends were initiated in both Houses ; and, 
finally, a bill, reported by the Committee of Manufactures of 
the House of Representatives, based on one submitted by the 
Secretary of the Treasury, vvhose views upon this subject dif- 
fered from those of the President, became a law ; making many 
alterations in the pre-existing tariff!, but preserving, distinctly 
and efficiently, the protecting discrimination. 

301. Before we speak of the consequences which flowed 
from this act, it will be proper, as necessary to the under- 
standing of the subject, that we give a sketch of the views 
of the several parties. This will have the interest arising 
from principles of political economy which deeply affect the 
prosperity of the country, 

302. The friends of a protective tariff aver, and truly, that, 
the maniifacturing system had been established m the country, 
liad been forced on the northern and middle States, by 
the restrictions upon commerce, proposed and sustained by 
the politicians of the South ; and that such States struggled 
long before they were convinced that such system was their 
true interest : 

303. That, availing herself of new discoveries in mechan- 
ics, and the peculiar advantages of her position. Great Britain, 
commanding the markets of the world, and adopting a sys- 
tem of commercial policy not only selfish and monopolizing, 
but, avowedly, permanently, unrelentingly, and premedi- 
tatedly, hostile to the commerce, navigation and manufac- 
tures of other nations, her rivals and competitors, had suc- 
ceeded to render them tributary to her industry, and in no 
small degree dependent upon her power. Of this hostility 
and dependence, the people of the United States had shared 
more than the inhabitants of any other portion of the globe: 

304. That, measures of protection, against such liostility, 
became indispensable, and were adopted by the American peo- 
ple, so soon as they were in condition to enforce them ; and 
the first effort, that, in favour of the manufacture of ships, 
was most successful : That the policy of Great Britain, grasp- 
ing at all the trade of the world, compelled us, in self-defence, 
to turn our attention to such manufactures as were most in- 
dispensable to the comforts of life, until, at length, driving 



VIEWS OF THE PKOTECTIVE SYSTEM. 16'9 

US into war, tanrrht us, that domestic rnaTnitactincs of' all 
Kuch articles, were among the primary clementcj ot* natiuiii.! 
independence: 

305. That, thus impelled, at once, by foreign hostility, 
and the policy adopted by the South, to resist it, the capital 
and industry ot" the northern and middle States were forcibly 
turned into the channel of domestic manufacture?. For the 
establishment of these, extensive capitals, costly buildings, 
expensive and complicated machinery, bur(lenson)e purchases 
of land, and of water courses, were indispensable. All of 
which, in most cases, could be attahied, only, through the 
medium of joint-stock companies, — few individuals having 
sutficient wealth, being disposed, so, to employ it : 

306. That, such establishments were protected by the war 
of 1812; -by the war duties; and by the tariff of April, 1810. 
But the system of connecting the protection of domestic in- 
dustry with the revenue on imports, has been developed since 
the war, and is no other than the development of tJie facul- 
ties of the nation in the progress of its own improvement. 
This S3'stem, fully and deliberately revised at three several 
periods, in 18'20, 1824 and 1828, has acquired strength in the 
opinions of the people. But it has been opposed by that geo- 
grapical section of the Union, which would derive from it the 
least advantage, and the opposition has increased with every 
stage of revision, upon the ground, that the system is uncon- 
stitutional and unequal. 

307. If, indeed, the systeto be unequal, — if it favour one 
portion of our common country and oppress another, it 
siiould be abandoned, or so moditied, as to remove the inequal- 
ity. But, to abandon it altogether, it would seem necessary 
to renounce the raising of revenue by impost. For, if it be 
true, that the duties of impost, are paid, not by the consumer 
of the article, but, by the producer of the article exported to 
pay for it, the result is the same, whether the impost be for 
revenue or protection ; and it is the wiser policy to raise the 
revenue requisite lor the country by direct, taxation. 

308. But, the allegation of oppression is unfounded. The 
citizens of the United States are, of all people, the least bur- 
dened by taxes. The sum levied by the Federal Government 
is much less than two dollars per annum upon each individual 
person, whilst, in England, the tax is full fifteen dollars the 
head, to the Government. There is, therefore, but little 
cause for complaint of onerous taxation in the United States. 
Never was the country in so prosperous a condition, as during 

15 



170 VIEWS OF THE PROTECTIVE SYSTEM. 

ihe seven years immediatel}- succeeding the tariff of 1824. 
7'he people were out of debt; land rising gradually but per- 
manently in value ; a ready and steady market for the surplus 
products of our industry; the face of the country covered 
with innumerable flocks and herds; our cities expanded; 
whole villages springing up, as if by enchantment; our ex- 
ports increased and increasing; our tonnage, foreign and coast- 
wise, swelling and fully employed; our interior rivers navi- 
gated by countless steamboats; the currency sound and abun- 
dant; the public debt of two wars redeemed; and an over- 
flowing treasury, embarrassing Congress to discover means to 
reduce it. — All which is to be ascribed, chiefly, to American 
legislation fostering American industry. 

309. And well may this be; for there is scarce an interest, 
v/hich the American System does not reach and protect. It 
comprehends, our coasting tonnage and trade ; from which it 
excludes foreigners; our foreign tonnage, some few cases ex- 
cepted by treaty; our fisheries; our mechanics and manufac- 
turers, whose products amount to hundreds of millions; our 
sugar and cotton plantations; and our incalculable agricultur- 
al products. ' .' 

310. It was further contended. That, \hefree trade desired 
by the South is visionary, impossible. If all restrictions were 
expunged from our statute book, we should find the ports of for- 
eign nations, then, as now, only, qualifiedly, open to us, whilst 
foreign ships would in our own harbours destroy the trade of 
our own vessels : The " Free Trade,'' contended for, by Great 
Britain, was acknowledged in Parliament to be no more than an 
attempt " to get a monopoly of all foreign markets for British 
manufactures," and was, indignantly, rejected by the manu- 
facturing nations of Europe: In relation to ourselves, its 
obvious tendency was, to reduce us to colonial vassalage, in 
which we should not have power to make even a hobnail : 

311. That, the addition, to the duties upon imports which 
rival domestic manufactures, does not, necessarily, as is al- 
leged, increase the price. On the contrary, by the excite- 
ment of competition, at home and abroad, it cheapens the 
goods in the market. If such competition were not kept up, 
the British would command the market, and impose extrava- 
gant prices. In many cases competition has reduced the 
manufactured article below, or so near the price at which it 
is made abroad, that the duty, not only, ceases to be a bounty 
to the home manufacturer, but becomes prohibitory to the for- 
ei"-u article. In such case, the duty serves to protect the do- 



VIEWS OF THE PROTECTIVE SYSTEM. 171 

mestic manufacturer against the injury he might receive by 
the malicious or accidental introduction of goods, at a price 
below their cost: 

312. That, though the protecting duty may be a bounty to 
the manufacturer, at the expense of the consumer, this ia 
true only, whilst the manufacture is in its infancy. But when 
the duty is judiciously imposed, it soon fosters the manufac- 
ture into strength; prices full, and the duty becomes a bounty 
to the consumer. But suppose the duty a bounty to the man- 
ufacturer; he is entitled to his turn of protection, which has 
long been extended to the commerce and agriculture of the 
nation : 

r 313. That, the protecting duties enable this country to con- 
sume ten millions of dollars in value of southern products, 
wiiich the northern manufacturers are enabled to pay for by 
the employment giv-cn to them. That if this market were 
destroyed, a substitute could not be found, inasmuch, as the 
goods manufactured from these products abroad, would amount 
to some thirty millions, for which the North has no exports 
wherewith to pay; and as the export of the foreign manufac- 
turer is pushed to the utmost, he could not find another mar- 
ket. Consequently, the South would lose the whole, or the 
greater part, of the advantages derived from the present con- 
sumption of American manufacturers : 

314. That, the import duty is not in effect an export duty; 
that, though, in some cases, it may, possibly, be assimilated to 
it, there is this difference ; the export duty attaches itself to 
the article exported, inseparably, and if it reach an overstock- 
ed market, the amount of the export duty may be a clear de- 
duction from the price of the article. But an import duty on 
the foreign article leaves the exporter of the domestic article 
free to purchase specie, or goods vendible at home at a profit : 

315. That, it is not true, ihat, the producer pays the import 
duty, and that, he is in the same condition, as if he gave to 
the Government, paying a duty of forty per cent, 40 bales of 
imported merchandise. For, were such the fact, if the duty 
were 150 per cent, he would not only give to the Government 
his whole hundred bales, but would pay the value of 50 bales 
more. But, he sells his hundred bales, and receives for them, 
not only, their orighial- cost, but the duty and a profit, upon 
every cent he may have expended, and gets for liis hundred, 
the value of 170 bales. 

316. If then, the producer, as producer, pays not the duty, 
he pays only, in the character of consumer, and in proportion, 



172 VIEWS OF THE PROTECTIVE SYSTEM. 

only, to his own consumption. Consequently, the duty does 
not operate upon him, unequally; he pays upon the same 
principle which affects every other citizen. 

317. Nor, is it true, that,4he South cannot avail herself of 
the benefits of a protective tariir^ by engaging in the pro- 
tected manufacture. The southern States abound in water 
power and in labour; and experience has taught, that the lat- 
ter may be directed, advantageously, to manufactures. 

318. Not only is the price of manufactured goods reduced 
by competition, but the price of agricultural products is 
enhanced by the creation of an extensive home market. 
The foreign market of the northern and middle agricultural 
States has been destroyed, and consequently all the popula- 
tion cannot be profitably employed in agricultural labours. 
Manufactures not only subtract, from agriculture, some three 
li undred thousand labourers, thereby diminishing the supply 
and increasing the demand for agricultural products, but giv- 
ing profitable employment to these abstracted labourers, en- 
ables them to purchase a greater quantity of such product. 
Without manufactures, the agricultural producers might be 
increased, but the productions could find no market ; 

319. If such be the advantages of the tarifi" system, 
in peace, they are greatly increased in a state of war; for 
which sound wisdom requires a constant state of prepa- 
ration. If we have not within our own country the means 
of supplying our wants, a state of war, cutting oft' foreign sup- 
ply, must subject us to great privation. 

320. It is not true, that, the repeal of the protecting duties, 
and the supply of our wants by foreign manufactures, would 
increase our exports. In such a case, our consumption, even 
of cotton goods, would be reduced with the means of pay- 
ment. And if the cotton manufacturer abroad, had no other 
market than ours, he could not increase his purchasers. But, 
our consumption is but a small matter, compared with the 
amount of foreign production. Tiie manufacturer has many 
other markets, which he now pushes to the utmost, but can- 
not enlarge. So long as he can buy from us, cheaper than 
from others, he will continue a customer to the extent of his 
market. But beyond that, no circumstance can make him a 
purchaser. 

321. The South contend, upon the principle, that, the pro- 
ducer of the exports is payer of the import duty, that under 
any system of duties, while the revenue is derived, almost 
exclusively, from imports, their proportion of the burdens im- 



VIEWS OF THE PROTECTIVE SYSTEM. 173 

posed by federal taxation, will be much greater than it ouglit 
to be, according to the principle of the Constitution, which 
regulates the apportionment of direct taxes. Under these 
:ircumstances, they think they have a right to insist, that the 
iggregate burden of taxation shall be as light as possible, 
md that not a dollar shall be expended by the Government, 
iliat can be avoided by a rigid economy. And upon these 
Principles, they propose to reduce the duties upon imported 
nerciiandise, generally, to the revenue standard ; gradually 
reducing those laid for the protection of manufactures. 

322. The imported merchandise, they aver, is divisible into 
;wo classes; the unprotected, or such as are, exclusively, 
Droduced in foreign countries, as teas, coffee, silks, and wine; 
;he burden of tiie duties upon which, is equally distributed 
:iver the Union, in proportion to the consumption : The pro- 
jected consisting of articles partly produced abroad and partly 
n the United States; such as coiton, woollen, and iron man- 
ifactures, upon which, they say, that the duty operates un- 
?qually, being adverse to the southern, and propitious to 
lorthern, interests, and is not paid in proportion to the con- 
sumption, and by the consumer, but by the producer. To sub- 
stantiate this apparent paradox, they reason thus : 

328. Foreign manufactures are attainable by purchase, 
Dnly. They must be purchased by the products of the do- 
iiestic industry of the United States; and, therefore, there ca,n 
i)e no possible conflict between foreign and domestic industry 
in our markets; but, the contest must be, between the do- 
mestic producer of the artiaie which is exchanged for the 
foreign manufacture and the domestic manufacturer; — that 
manufactured goods imported, in exchange for southern pro- 
iuce, are, as truly and exclusively the productions of domestic 
Industry, as they are sacredly the property of the planter; 
ind being such products, and his property, he is entitled to 
introduce them for consumption, into the country, upon the 
same terms that the manufacturer makes them ; free of, or 
upon equal, duties. That is, as the manufacturer pays no 
July upon his products in cotton or woollen cloths, or manu- 
factured iron, so neither shall the planter pay upon the pro- 
ducts of his industry, when converted into such cloths or iron. 

324. To illustrate this inequality, they put the following 
case. The cotton planter brings, from Liverpool, to Charles- 
ton, a cargo of cotton goods, valued at $50,000, in exchange 
for his cotton and wool. The manufacturer brings to the 
same port, from Boston, a cargo of cotton goods, of like value. 
15^ 



174 VIEWS OF THE TROTECTIVE SYSTEM. 

But, the planter pays at the custom house a duty of forty per 
cent., whilst the manufacturer introduces his goods without 
payment of a farthing. The planter, therefore, receives for 
his importation twenty thousand dollars less than the manu- 
facturer. This, the planter says, is unequal and burdensome 
upon him; and the more burdensome, as the money thus 
levied is not required by the wants of the Government, but 
is avowedly demanded, to enable the northern manufacturer 
to exclude from the market of the planter, his cheaper pro- 
ductions. 

325. They further allege, in support of the charge of in- 
equality, that, 07ie half of the federal revenue is raised by 
protecting duties levied upon the manufactures for which the 
cotton, tobacco and rice produced by one-fifth part of the fed- 
eral population, is exchanged, and that it is equivalent to an 
export duty upon cotton, tobacco and rice, of the planters; 
for if the manufactures received for the cotton, tobacco and 
rice, are as truly the productions of the planters, as the cot- 
ton, tobacco and rice themselves, it is mimaterial to them, 
whether the duty be levied on the productions of their indus- 
try in one form or another. 

326. The controversy, then, they say, resolves itself into a 
competition between the southern planters and northern man- 
ufacturers, for supplying the market of the United States 
with certain descriptions of manufactured goods; and the pro- 
tecting duties inflict injury upon the southern planters, at least 
equal to the benefit they confer upon the northern manufac- 
turers; nay, the evil is more grievous, for the duties take 
employment from a more productive class, and give it to one 
less productive. Because, if with a protection of forty per 
cent, the manufacturers can only make their ordinary profits, 
and if the planters can maintain the competition, even under 
this enormous discriminating duty, it is evident that with a 
mere revenue duty of 12| per cent, the planters could sell at 
much lower prices than the manufacturers, and at the same 
time realize much higher profits. This, they contend, is a 
correct view of the case, so far as it regards the interest of 
the parties, and that the question of their relative rights is 
not less clear. 

327. If it be true, they say, that they have a perfect right 
to the produce of their industry, in any and every form, and 
in every place, it is clear, that, in the growth and export of 
their staples and the exchange for foreign commodities, they 
do not violate the rights of any other class of citizens, how- 



VIEWS OF THL PROTECTIVE SYSTEM. 175 

ever they may come in conflict wiili their interests. If then 
the rig-ht be pertect, on what principles of ju.stice, they de- 
mand, can the power be claimed to take away their property 
for the benefit of another? 

228. The manufactures demand protection. But protection 
against what? Not foreign invasion, but against a fair and 
equal competition against Southern industry. And extrava- 
I gant protection is required, because foreign manufactures are 
\ purchased by tlie productions of the southern States, flowing 
from slave labour, which is lour times cheaper in the opera- 
tions of agriculture than the free labour of the nortliern 
States, — the day-labourer on a cotton plantation earning not 
more than 12^ cents per day, whilst tlie northern labourer 
has from fifty to an hundred. It^ tJie nortliern manufacturers 
had to contend against the importations by the agricultural 
products of the northern States, they would require no pro- 
tection, for tlie agriculturists of those States cannot compete 
in the European markets with European producers, and, there- 
fore, have no means to buy foreign manufactures. 

329. Tlie northern manufacturer, tiiey continue, can have 
no more right to protection against the industry of the south- 
ern producer, than the latter can have, to demand, that he 
may import foreign manufactures free of duty, while an ex- 
cise duty of forty per cent, should be levied upon the manu- 
factures, whicii come in competition with his imports. This 
would be, but the inverse of the existing case, and, if the po- 
sition of the defenders of the American System be true, this 
would not be oppressive upon the manufacturer, since, not he, 
but the consumer, would pa^ the duty, and it would, thus, be 
distributed over the United States. The middle ground, the 
ground of compromise, therefore, would be, that the imported 
and domestic manufactures should be alike free from duty or 
alike burdened. 

880. But it is not true, that, the whole duty can be thrown 
upon tlie consumer, even w'here the duties are imposed upon 
the entire quantity of the taxed commodity consumed in the 
country. If this be true, it is more obviously and to a great- 
er extent the case, where the duties are not ecjually levied 
upon the entire commodities consumed, but levied u|X)n the 
smaller portion of the national consumption. This may be 
illustrated thus: The value of cotton goods manufactured in 
the United States for sale, may be twenty-four millions, and 
of those imported, about eight millions, annually. The duty 
upon the imports may be assumed at fifty per cent; equal to 



176 VIEWS OF THE PROTECTIVE SYSTEM. 

four millions. Now, if the whole duty fall upon the consu- 
mer, it must be by the enhancement of the price fifty per 
cent, in the market, where the imported goods have to con- 
tend with the twenty-four millions of home manufactures. 
Can this be done? The answer is different in the North and 
the South. 

331. Nor, is the state of the question, materially or perma- 
nently, changed, where the return for the exported commod- 
ities is in specie, which pays no duty. Specie has no fixed 
value; and its relative value is as dependent upon commer- 
cial restriction as any other commodity. Thus, if, in unre- 
stricted trade, one dollar will purchase one yard of cloth, and 
under restrictions one dollar and a half be requisite for the 
same purpose, the value of specie as an equivalent for this 
article, would be degraded. In other words, the exchauo-eable 
value of specie, in the United States, would be diminished 
precisely in the degree that the other articles would be en- 
hanced by the restriction and by the consequent importation of 
specie. For a season, the planter might find it his interest to 
import specie instead of manufactures, burdened with the 
duty. This operation would continue, until the relative va- 
lue of manufactures in England and the United States, as 
compared with specie, should be so far changed, that it would 
be more advantageous to the exporter of cotton, to import 
manufactures, even under the high duties, than to import spe- 
cie. This change in the relative value of manufactures in 
the two countries, would be produced by the diminution of the 
quantity of specie in England, and its accumulation in the 
United States, and after the distribution and adjustment of the 
precious metals relative to this state of things should have 
been effected, the importation of the protected articles would 
be so extensively resumed as to require further protecting 
duties. 

332. The effect of this change in the value of money is to 
diminish the exchangeable value of the great staple exports 
of the South. Their money price in the United States is 
governed by their money price abroad, and as the latter can- 
not be increased by the duties upon the imports received in 
exchange, the money price of these staples will not be great- 
er in the United States, under a system of protecting duties, 
than without it. The exchangeable value of these commod- 
ities, therefore, must be diminished, in the United States, pre- 
■^isely, in the degree that the value of specie is depreciated; 
as compared with other commodities, or as the average price 



VIEWS OF TUL rROTLCTlVL SYSTLM. 177 

of all other articles is enhanced, by the protecting duties. 
ITenco, it becomes of the utmost importance to the true un- 
derstanding- of this subject, to bear constantly m mind the 
distinction between the money price and the exchangeable 
value of the staples as affected by the protecting system. 

'i'S'S. Cut, suppose the planter receives money tur hi.i cotton, 
Vv'iat is his condition? If he would buy cotton, woollen or 
iron, and other protected manufactures, he must pay tor them, 
on an average, full tbrty-five per cent. The burden then is, 
unalterably, fixed upon the planter, as a producer, for he is 
compelled either to import these articles himself, in direct ex- 
change for his cotton, and pay the duties on them out of his 
own pocket, or to receive money in exchange for his cotton. 
This money received by him, in England, is worth from for- 
ty to iitly per cent, more there, than here, tor the use to which 
he would apply it. But, in transferring his purchases to the 
United States, that advantage is lost in the duties which he 
must pay. Still it is his interest to import, so long as tobac- 
co, cotton or rice, is produced tor exportation. When the 
tariff of 1828 was passed, it was supposed to be prohibitory 
to articles subject to the higher rate of duty. It was, tem- 
porarily, so, tor many articles. But when the distribution of 
tlie precious metals or their substitutes became adjusted to the 
new state of things, importations v^ere freely resumed, and 
as large an <i',nount of protected articles came in, at an a\'e- 
rage of nearly fifty per cent., as had come in betbre, at the 
lower rates of the former tariff 

334, In whatever degree the increased price of protected 
articles arises from the depreciation in the value of money, 
all other commodities in the same commercial community 
will experience a corresponding increase of price. Hence, 
the nortiiein farmers and labourers are less oppressed by the 
protecting system, than the people of the southern States, 
other than the planters. Whatever increases the profits of 
the leading employments of capital, in any community, in- 
creases the profits of subordinate employments and the wages 
of labour ; Where the transfer of capital and labour from 
one employment to another, is easily effected, there cannot 
long continue different rates of profit and wages of labour. 
For' if the protecting duties by the enhancement of price re- 
duce the value of money, in whatever decree that takes 
place, in the same degree all other articles in the same re- 
gion of country are enhanced also. While, therefore, the 
price of manufactures is increased forty or fifty per cent,, by 



178 VIEWS OF THE PROTECTIVE SYSTEM. 

the protecting duties, the price of all farming productions is s 
probably increased twenty-tive or thirty per cent. The bur- - 
den upon the northern consumers, therefore, is only the differ- • 
ence between the price of the protected and the unprotected 1, 
productions of that part of the Union. 

335. For the same reason, that the prosperity of the great 
manufacturing interests of the North produces a correspond- 
ing prosperity in the other classes there, the depressed condi- 
tion of the southern planters must produce a corresponding . 
depression, in all subordinate departments of southern indus- 
try. The protecting duties have a double operation upon 
them. They, at the same time, diminish the price of their 
great staples and increase the price of all the articles they 
have occasion to purchase, from other parts of the Union. 
Nor can they relieve themselves by entering upon the pro- 
tected pursuits. Their population is not adapted to manufac- 
tures, nor can the population be removed to the manufactur- 
ing region. 

336. The result of the whole, the southern statesmen sum 
up thus: "The annual product of the three groat staples of 
the South, consumed both abroad and at home, amounts to at 
least 40 millions of dollars. The effect of the protecting 
system, is to depress the exchangeable value of this whole 
amount of production, as compared both with the manufac- 
tures of the North and with foreign manufactures, in the ex- 
act degree that it cnliances the price of those manufactures. 
In other words, upon all the exchanges of the planters at 
home and abroad, they pay an average of forty per cent, more 
for what they purchase, while the price of their staples is not 
at all increased; and this unequal state of their exchanges is 
exclusively produced by the protecting duties." "It is an 
annual legislative draft upon the productive industry of the 
planting States, in favour of the m.anufacturing States, for 
between ten and fifteen millions of dollars, signed by the pre- 
siding officers of the tv/o Houses of Congress, and counter- 
signed by the President of the United States." 

337. The inequality of this taxation is rendered more bur- 
densome by the place of the expenditure of the revenue. If 
taxes be spent in the districts within which they are raised, 
the burden ma.y be easily borne; because, the operation is 
not to diminish the quantum of wealth, but to transfer it from 
one cla!?s to another. In a small country, like England, the 
transfer of the revenue from the place of collection to the 
place of expenditure, is scarcely felt. The burdens and the 



VIEWS OF THE PROTECTIVE SYSTEM. 179 

jbene fits arc so equally distributed, that the one almost coun- 
terbalances the other. But in the United kStatcs, it is the re- 
verse. In South Carolina and (ieorj^ia, States which con- 
tribute nearly three times their proj)er quotas of taxes, 
amounting to upwards of five millions, there have not been 
annually expended $100,000 for the last ten years. Almost 
the whole of a revenue of twenty-tour millions is distributed 
north of the Potomac, principally, among the manufacturing 

"States, adding additional stimulus to their industry, already 
too highly stimulated by the enormous bounties of the pro- 
tecting system. 

I 338. The effect of the system on the South, is said to be 
most desolating. It has caused the entire destruction of its 
navigation ; broken the merchants and . mechanics ; thrown 
commerce into the hands of foreigners, who bear off their 
profits to more favoured lands; real estate is falling in price, 
in the cities; in the country, the fields are abandoned, the 
hospitable mansions are deserted; agriculture droops; the 

' slaves, as their masters, work harder, and fare worse ; and the 

I planter, whose earnest efforts have failed to avert his ruin, is 
driven from the scenes of his childhood and the bones of his 
fathers, to seek in the wilderness the reward of his industry. 
339, It cannot be doubted, w'e think, that in both these 
expositions there is exaggeration. The protecting system is, 
certainly, among the efficient causes of tlie prosperity of the 
country, but, greater effect is ascribed to it, than it really 
produces. Were the duties diminished, the manufactures of 
the country might still be profitably sustained ; but if the du- 
ties be wholly abrogated, many valuable branches of national 
industry must be destroyed. irThe evil operation of the pro- 
tective system upon the South, is misrepresented, in degree 
as in kind. If increased population, and increased produc- 
tion of profitable staples, be evidence of prosperity, and cer- 
tainly there can be none higher, the South must be in a pros- 
perous condition. That region, including South Carolina, 
Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, 
has increased, in population, within ten years, from 1820 to 
1830, under the tariff system, nearly fifly per cent., and its 
cotton product, alone, has grown one-half in value, and two- 
fitlhs in quantity, and this article furnishes more than one-half 
of our domestic exports. During the latter portion of that 
period. South Carolina may have been less prosperous than 
in the former. The greatly increased production of cotton, 
reducing price, and the new lands of other States rendering 



180 VIEWS OF THE PROTECTIVE SYSTLJI. 

the culture there more profitable, must have much affected ' 
her interest in the market, and whilst she suffered from tlie 
general causes for depression of prices throughout the world, , 
these causes have been peculiar to herself. 

340. We do not think the South has been much injured I 
by the tariff system ; but if she have, it has not been in the 
ways W'hich have been averred. It has not had the effect 
to contract the market for her staples, nor to compel her, , 
as the producer, to pay the duty. But she has been forced 
to pay higher for many articles of her consumption, without 
>Xhe advantages which make the system desirable, elsewhere. 
In considering this case, we must look at it under the regular 
and ordinary state of trade, when the demand and supply are 
duly apportioned; not when these relations are disturbed, by 
over production, whether in ra\v material or the manuiisc- 
ture, or by political or commercial convulsions. In the 
healthy state of trade, the grower of cotton, tobacco and rice, 
is enabled to export his products, and to import goods in re- 
turn, more advantageously, generally, than he can import 
specie. If he import the latter, however, he docs not import 
a degraded commodity. Specie can be depreciated, in a com- 
mercial country, only, when her balance of trade is against 
the world, and then not for a long period, because the depre- 
ciation will make it an exportable commodity. But deprecia- 
tion of specie, can never be caused by a trade with a nation, 
as with Great Britain, where the balance is, constantly, mil- 
lions against us. When the producer imports goods, how- 
ever, he is burdened with a heavy duty, and so far as he con- 
sumes the goods himself, he becomes the actual and ultimate 
payer of such duty ; but if he sell them, tlie usual case, the 
consumer pays the duty, in the price, consisting of cost, charges ii 
and profits ; and no portion of the duty is paid by the producer 
or exporter. The planter is rarely the exporter or importer, j 
His trade is limited to a sale, for money, to the merchant, and ^ 
in this way he avoids much of the risk of loss which may flow 
from causes disturbing the general course of trade. He buys 
with his cash, the supplies for his plantation, and if in these 
there be any protected articles, he pays the duty. Of these , 
articles, in proportion to its numerical population, the South i 
consumes less than the North and West, and is, therefore, in i 
proportion to its wealth, less heavily taxed. The master, to > 
be sure, pays for his slaves, and, individually, pays more than i' 
the northern farmer; but let the master and slaves pay per 
capiturriy and the northern man pays at least double the tax 



VIEWS OF THE PROTECTIVE SYSTEM. 181 

of llic soullicrn one. But the condition of the southern man 
ditfors from that of the northern man in this, tliat to the former, 
the burden of taxation, whatever it may be, brings no com- 
pensating influence, whilst to the latter, the burden provides 
tho means to sustain it. 

341. Hence, it is apparent, the interests of the northern and 
I soutliern portions of our country conflict, in some measure, 
with each other, and that the South has some, but we cannot 
think very grievous, cause of complaint, and none which is 
not compensated by the general benefits of the Union. Con- 
sidered as part of a great whole, she suffers from an inequality 
' which is common to every community. It is impossible to 
:devise any system of taxation which shall not operate, more 
or less, unequally, and she should not, therefore, complain, 
•that like others, enjoying the benefits of society, she pays a 
portion of the price. But, if she take the selfish position, that 
nothing is to be given up, to the Union, and that a state of 
national polity, producing temporary, local, partial inconve- 
nience, is cause for adverse, sectional organization, she may, 
^indeed, find in the tariff" system, motives to resistance, which 
' one foreign State has to resist another. This is a view, how- 
. ever, which the patriotism and good sense of the greater por- 
< tion of the South has, happily, rejected. 



16 



CHAPTER XIII. 



NULLIFICATION AND PR0CLA3IATI0N. 



342. When the near extinction o the public debt brough 
up the tariff system for consideration, in 1832, the championi 
of the South, headed by Mr. Hayne in the Senate, and Mi 
McDuffie in the House of Representatives, ably and zealousl 
exposed and amplified their grievances, and required of th 
North and West, not only, the reduction of the taxes whic' 
the extinguishment of the debt authorized, but the reductio 
of the protective duties, also, to the revenue standard. Th 
demand was resisted, by Mr. Clay and his compeers in th 
Senate, and Mr. John Q. Adams and his associates in th 
House, with triumphant success, by the passage of the billj 
the prmciple of which we have stated. 

343. In the sufferings of the South, South Carolina was th 
greatest sufferer, or, at least, the loudest complainant, an 
most active agitator. Her reason and her eloquence wer 
powerless to induce three-fourths of the Union to surrende 
their interests, to the promotion of the wishes of the othe 
fourth, and in casting about for a remedy, her ingenious r 
presentatives struck out one of a novel and most disorganizin 
character, to which they threatened, in 1831, to resort; unlesi 
their alleged grievances should be redressed, in tlie adjust 
ment of the revenue to the wants of the Government, j 
nature of this remedy underw^ent a thorough discussion in th 
Senate of the United States, upon some resolution offered b 
Mr. Foot, relative to the public lands; and we shall giv 
here a concise view of its character. 

344. There exists in all political associations, an indefeasi 
ble right, among their constituents, to resist all acts whic 
are plainly against the principles of the association, and to 
oppressive to be endured. This is the sacred right of insur 
rection, to be resorted to as medicinal, in extreme cases only 
When, in the year 179S, the passage of the alien and sedi 
tion laws alarmed the democratic party, for the safety of th 
Constitution of the United States, the individual States wer 
disposed to look into their powers, to ascertain the mean 
they possessed, of resisting encroachments. Some resolu 
tions, prepared by Mr. Jefferson for the Kentucky Legisla- 

182 



NULLIFICATION AND PROCLAMATION. 183 

ture, were adopted by that bod}^ and others of like cliaracter, 
prepared by Mr. Madison, were approved by the Assembly 
of Virginia, in which these subjects were considered. The 
Kentucky resolutions asserted, hypothetically, but without in- 
tention to apply them to the existing case, the following prin- 
ciples: 

In case of acts being passed by Congress "so palpably 
against the Constitution, as to amount to an undisguised de- 
I claration, that the compact is not meant to be the measure of 
\ the fowers of the General Government^ hut, that, it will 
' "proceed to exercise over the States all powers whatsoever, 
it would be the duty of the States to declare the acts void, 
: and of no force, and that each should take measures of its 
i own, for providing, that neither such acts, nor any other of 
' the General Government, not plainly and intentionally author- 
■ ized by the Constitution, shall be exercised within their re- 
; bpective territories." 

j ■ The case thus put is obviously one of great extremity, in 
' which the obligation to maintain the Union would be dis- 
solved, and the remedy would be a forcible dissolution of the 
compact. 

Yet, upon such hypothetical case, the southern jurists have 
built up a doctrine, which teaches the right to nullify the 
laws of the United States, as a peaceable and constitutional 
remedy, wJicnever a State shall deem them unwarrantable. 
They say : 

I. 345. That, the General Government, emanated from the 
people of the several States, forming distinct political communi- 
ties and acting in their separate and sovereign capacities, and 
not from all the people, forming one aggregate political com- 
munity ; that the Constitution of the United States is a com- 
pact, to which each State is a party, in the character above 
described; that the States have a right to judge of its infrac- 
tions, and, in cases of deliberate, palpable and dangerous ex- 
ercise of power not delegated, may, in the last resort, inter- 
pose for arresting the progress of the evil, and for main- 
taining within their respective limits, the authorities, rights 
and liberties appertaining to them, which right is the funda- 
mental principle of our system; 

II. That, the doctrine which denies to the States the right 
of protecting their reserved powers, and vests in the General 
Government (it matters not through what department) the 
j;ight of determining, exclusively and finally, the powers del- 
egated to it, is incompatible with the sovereignty of the States 



184 xSULLIPICATION AND PROCLAMATION. 

and of the Constitution itself, considered as the basis of a 
Federal Union: 

III. That, to give to the General Government the final and 
exclusive right to judge of its powers is to make its discretion, 
and not the Constitution, the measure of its powers; and 
that, in all cases of compact, between parties having no com- 
mon judge, each party has an equal right to judge for itself, 
as well of the operation, as of the mode and measure of re- 
dress: 

IV. That, should the General Government and a State 
come into conflict, the power, which called the General Gov- 
ernment into existence, which gave it all of its authority, 
which can enlarge, contract or abolish its powers, may be in- 
voked. The States themselves may be appealed to ; three- 
lourths of which, in fact, form a power whose decrees are in 
the Constitution, itself: 

V. That, the powers of the Supreme Court of the United 
States are judicial, not political ; and are, expressly, confined 
by the Constitution, " to all cases in law and equity arising 
under the Constitution, the laws of the United States, and 
the treaties made, or which shall be made, under its author- 
ity;" and which exclude political questions and comprehend 
those only where there are parties amenable to the process 
of the Court. Nor is its incompetency less clear, than its 
want of constitutional authority. There may be many, and 
the most dangerous infractions on the part of Congress, of 
which, it is conceded by all, the Court as a judicial tribunal 
cannot, from its nature, take cognizance. 

VI. But, supposing it competent to take cognizance of in- 
fractions of every description, it cannot be safely entrusted 
with the power. Power to protect can be, safely, confided 
only to those interested in protecting, or to their responsible 
agents. The danger, in our system, is, that, the General 
Government may encroach upon the States, or the States on 
the General Government. The Government, through all its 
departments, is administered by delegated agents, responsi- 
ble to the high controlling power which impels every move- 
ment of the machine : Tliat power is the majority compound- 
ed of the majority of the States taken as corporate bodies, 
and the majority of the people of the States, estimated in 
federal numbers. The majority of the States elect the ma- 
jority of the Senate; of the people of the States, that of the 
House of Representatives; the two united, the President; 
and the President and a majority of the Senate appoint the 



NULLIFICATION AND PROCLAMATION. 185 

judges ; a majority of whom, of the Senate and the House, 
with the President, really exercise all the powers of the Gov- 
ernment, save where the Constitution recjuires a greater num- 
ber than a majority. Thus, the judges are as truly the repre- 
sentatives of this united majority, as the majoiily of Con- 
gress itself or the President, is its legislative or executive 
representative. To confide the power, therefore, to the 
judges, to determine, finally, and conclusively, what powers 
are delegated and what reserved, is to confide it to the major- 
ity, whose agents they are and by whom they may be con- 
trolled in various ways. Nor will the tenure by which they 
hold their offices, materially, vary the case ; its highest pos- 
sible effect would be to retard and not finally to resist the 
will of a dominant majority: 

VII. That, the Government is not one of majorities. The 
Constitution is the law of the Government, as the law is the 
rule of individuals; and this principle is as true, where the 
Government is administered by a majority as by an individual. 
The right of the Government is derived, only, from the assent 
of the governed. Where the interests of the people are 

' homogenous, it may be wise to place them under the control 
of a majority, but where they are dissimilar, whether from 
difference of climate, soil, situation, industry or production, 
they must be protected, by constitutional provisions. In the 
United States, these interests are very diverse. To preserve 
them, a plan was devised suited to our situation, but novel in 

, its character. The powers of Government were divided, not 
as heretofore, in reference to classes of the people, but, geo- 
graphically. One General Government was formed for the 
whole, with all the powers supposed necessary to regulate 
the interests common to all the States, leaving all others to 
the control of the States, respectively; being such as could 
not be subjected to the will of the majority of the w.hole 
Union without the certain hazard of injustice and oppression. 
This distribution of power, settled solemnly by constitutional 
compact, to which all the States are parties, constitutes the 
peculiar character and excellence of our political system. 
To preserve this distribution, by coercing each political body 
to move in its prescribed orbit, is the great and difficult pro- 
blem, on the solution of which, the duration of our Constitu- 
tion, and in all probability, our liberty depends: How is this 
to be effected] 

I Whenever separate and dissimUar interests have been 
•separately represented in any Government; whenever the 
16* 



186 NULLIFICATION AND PROCLAMATION. 

sovereig'n power has been divided in its exercise, the experi- 
ence and wisdom of ages have devised but one mode by which 
guch political organization can be preserved; that is, to give 
to each co-estate the right to judge of its powers, with a nega- 
tive or veto on the acts of the others; a principle recognized 
in all our Constitutions, in the distribution of power among 
their respective departments, as essential to the independence 
of each, but far more essential, for the same object, in the 
great and fundamental distribution of powers between the 
States and the General Government. So essential is this 
principle, that to withhold the right from either, where the 
sovereign power is divided, is in fact, to annul the division 
and to consolidate in the one left in the exclusive possession 
of the right, all of the powers of the Government, for, it is 
not possible to distinguish, practically, between a Government 
liaving all power, and one having the right to take what pow- 
er it pleases. 

These views are thus summed up, in the proclamation of 
Governor Hayne : " The Constitution of the United States is 
a compact between sovereign States — it creates a confeder- 
ated republic, not having a single feature of nationality in its 
foundation — the people of the several States, as distinct politi- 
cal communities, ratified the Constitution, each State acting 
for itself, and binding its own citizens, and not those of any 
other State, the act of ratification declaring it to be bindingf 
upon the States so ratifymg — the States are its authors; their 
power created it — their voice clothed it with authority — the 
Government which it formed, is composed of their agents, and 
the union of which it is the bond, is a union of States, and not 
of individuals — that, as regards the foundation and extent of 
its power, the Government of the United States is, strictly, 
what its name implies, a Federal Government — that the 
States are as sovereign now, as they were prior to the enter- 
ing into the compact — that the Federal Constitution is a con- 
federation in the nature of a treaty — or an alliance, by which so 
many sovereign States agreed to exercise their sovereign 
powers conjointly, upon certain objects of external concern, 
in v/hich they are equally interested, such as war, peace, 

COMMERCE, FOREIGN NEGOTIATION, ANT) INDIAN TRADE; and 

upon all other subjects of civil government, they were to ex- 
ercise their sovereignty separately^ 

" For the convenient conjoint exercise of the sovereignty 
of the State, there must be, of necessity, some common agency 
or functionary. This agency is the Federal Government. It 



NULLIFICATION AND PROCLAMATION. 187 

represents the confederated States, and executes tlieir joint 
will, as expressed in the compact. The powers of this Gov- 
ernment are wiiolly derivative. It jxjssesses no more in- 
herent sovereignty than an incorporated town, or any other 
great incorporate body — it is a political corporation, and, like 
all corporations, it looks for its powers to an exterior source. 
That source is the States." 

I VIII. And, if in the exercise of the unquestionable right of 
the State to nullify such laws of the General Government, 
that Government proceed to enforce them, the Siate is justi- 
fiable in dissolving the Union. 

346. This extraordinary power, so pregnant with disunion, 
BO incompatible with all the conservative principles of the 
General Government, rests on the alleged undivided sove- 
reignty of the States, and upon the position that in this sove- 
reign capacity they formed a league in the Constitution. 
Both these grounds are erroneous. 

; I. The Constitution of the United States forms a Govern- 
! ment — not a league — a political association of one people, 
and not the union of distinct communities. So far from be- 
; ing the creature of the States, many of the-States, certainly, 
I if not all, have been created by the General Government. 
I Such is unquestionably the case with all that have been 
1 formed since the declaration of independence, and those at 
i that time in existence may be fairly deemed to owe their in- 
, dependence to that declaration, made by the people of the 
United Colonies. In the formation of the Constitution, the 
PEOPLE executed their will, through the agency of the State 
Legislatures, in electing the framers of the compact, and 
through the agency of separate conventions, in ratifying its 
provisions. That there might be no doubt of this important 
t fact, they have, in the first article of that instrument, de- 
j clared, that, WE, the people of the United States, tn order 
I to form a more perfect union, have established this Consti- 
tution; and, consistently with this declaration, many of the 
most important functions under the Constitution are fulfilled 
by the people, as by one people. VVe are one people in the 
choice of President and Vice President. The choice is not 
determined by a sense of the majority of States, but by the 
sense of the majority of the people of all the States ; and a ma- 
jority of the States may support a candidate who is rejected by 
a majority of the Peop'le. The House of Representatives is, 
emphatically, the representation of the people of the United 
States, not of particular States The members are ap- 



188 NULLIFICATION AND PROCLAMATION. 

pointed, it is true, in some instances, by a State vote, in others 
by a district vote, but this no more makes them exclusive repre- 
sentatives of States or districts, than the members of the State 
Legislatures, elected by the respective counties, are exclusi vely 
the representatives of such counties. In both cases, the mem- 
ber is the representative of the great body politic, selected from 
a constituent portion. The representative in Ccigress is not 
accountable to a State for the performance of his legislative 
functions; and though, in practice, he may, as his duty, pre- 
fer the interests of his particular constituents, when conflict- 
ing with other partial or local interests, yet it is his first 
and highest interest, as representative of the United States, 
to promote the general good. 

11. The Government of the United States is one in which 
all the people are represented; one whicn acts upon the peo- 
ple, individually, and not upon the States. The States, re- 
taining such powers as they have not granted, have expressly 
given such as were requisite to constitute, jointly with other 
States, a single jiation. Having so done, no State can se- 
cede, because she would thereby not break a league, but de- 
stroy the unity of a nation. To say that, a State may, at 
pleasure, secede from the Union, is to say, that, the United 
States are not a nation ; because it would be a solecism to 
contend, that, any part of a nation may dissolve its connec- 
tion with the other parts, to their injury or ruin, without com- 
mitting offence. Secession, like any other revolutionary act, 
may be, morally, justified by the extremity of oppression ; but 
it is a confounding of terms to call it a constitutional right, 
and can be done, only, in great error, or with a view to de- 
ceive. 

HI. That the Union is formed by compact, affords no rea- 
son that any of the parties may destroy it. On the contrary, 
it is, because it is a compact, a binding obligation, that they 
cannot depart from it. A compact may, or may not, have a 
sanction or penalty for its breach. If it have none, it may be 
broken with no other consequence than moral guilt; if it 
have a sanction, the breach incurs the penalty expressed or 
implied. A league between independent nations, generally, 
has only a moral sanction ; or if there be other, there is no 
common superior to enforce it. A Government always has a 
sanction, express or implied, and in our case has both. An 
attempt, by force of arms, to destroy it, is an offence against 
which the Government has, by the law of self-defence, au- 
thority to provide, by the punishment of the offender, subject, 



NULLIFICATION AND PROCLAMATION. 189 

I 

of course, to the restraints of the Constitution. In our sys- 
tem, although the power is modified in the case of treason, 
yet autiiority is expressly g-iven to pass all laws necessary to 
carry its powers into eflect, and provision has been made for 
punishing acts which obstruct the administration of the laws. 

IV. Tlie States, severally, have not retained their entire 
sovereignty ; but have surrendered many of its essential parts. 
The right to make treaties — declare war — levy taxes — exer- 
cise exclusive judicial and legislative powers, were all essen- 
tial parts of sovereignty ; but for these important purposes the 
States, individually, are no longer sovereign. The alle- 
giance of their citizens was due, in the first instance, to the 
Government of the United States; they became American 
citizens and vowed obedience to the Constitution, and laws 
of the United States, made in conformity with tiie powers 
vested in Congress. How then can a State be sovereign and 
independent, whose citizens owe obedience to laws not made 
by it, and whose magistrates are sworn to disregard such 
laws, when they conflict with those passed by another? 

V. But it is vain to say, that, the Constitution of the United 
States, and the treaties and laws made under it, are the su- 
preme law of the land, and that, tiie Judges in every State 
shall be bound thereby, any thing in the Constitution or 
law of any State, to tlie contrary notwithstanding, if an indi- 
vidual State may, at pleasure, annul those laws. If by the 
expression of its will, one State may annul the laws, there is 
scarce a law which would be preserved; for, it is scarce prac- 
ticable to make a law equally acceptable to every State. Had 
this doctrine been established, at an earlier day, the Union 
would have been dissolved in its infancy. The excise law in 
Pennsylvania, the embargo and non-intercourse laws in the 
eastern States, the carriage tax in Virginia, were all deemed 
unconstitutional, and were more unequal in their operation, 
than the laws now complained of; but, fortunately, none of 
these States discovered, that, they had the right to annul 
them. Had such been the case, the war into which we were 
forced, to support the dignity and rights of the nation, might 
have ended in defeat and disgrace, if the States which sup- 
posed it ruinous and unconstitutional, had chosen to annul the 
law by which it was declared, and to deny the supplies for its 
prosecution. 

VI. But what if the Government of the United States pass 
laws which are unconstitutional, or intolerably oppressive, is 
tJiere no tribunal to which an appeal may be madel Cer- 



190 NULLIFICATION AND PROCLAMATION. 

tainly; the Constitution has provided two, to pass upon the 
constitutionality of laws, and two to remedy every species of 
oppression. 

VII. To the Supreme Court it belongs, to pass upon the 
constitutionality of every act of the General Government, 
which can, by judicial forms, be brought before it. By the 
Constitution, " the judicial power shall extend to all cases, 
in law and equity, arising- under this Constitution, the laws 
of the United States, and treaties made, and which shall be 
made, under their authority ; and such power shall be vested 
in one Supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts, as Con- 
gress may, from time to time, ordain and establish." These 
provisions are explicit and full. They make the Supreme 
Court of the United States the umpire in all such cases, in 
the last resort. And it may be justly retorted, that the doc- 
trine which denies to the General Government the rio-ht of 
protecting its powers, and vests in the States, respectively, 
the right to determine the powers delegated to it, is incom- 
patible with the sovereignty of the United States. 

VIIL But, there may be cases of legislative and executive 
character, to which the powers of the judiciary do not reach. 
Such is that presented by the tariiF laws. In form, they are, 
unquestionably, constitutional, and if they be otherwise it is 
from their motive. All admit, that Congress have the right 
to levy imposts, but it is denied, that they have the right to 
levy them, for tiie protection of manufactures. For such 
cases, for cases of legislative oppression, and for cases of pre- 
meditated abuse of power, by all departments of the General 
Government, the Constitution has provided appropriate reme- 
dies. 

In the first place, the people, by the exercise of the elec- 
tive franchise, may check and remedy any or all of these evils 
— removing the legislature and the executive — and in case 
the judges have entered into any corrupt conspiracy, may re- 
move them by impeachment. A reformed Congress would 
repeal all laws, which prove oppressive or are adverse to the 
Constitution. B'.sides this, there is, yet, another remedy, in 
the power of amendment to the Constitution, given in that 
instrument, by which three-fourths of the States may alter 
its provisions. And lastly, when all these constitutional 
modes have been tried in vain, is the appeal to ihe ultima 
ratio, the physical power of the people — sacred insurrection. 

IX. The Government is a government of the majority, ac- 
cording to the principles which have been established by its^ 



NULLIFICATION AND PROCLAMATION. 191 

Constitution. Upon interests embraced by liiat instrument, 
no section of the United IStates, can have a right to ariay it- 
self upon its geographical position, its climate, or special pro- 
ducts, and declare that, its interests are adverse to those 
of other portions of the Union, and that, therefore, it may 
annul, for itsolti the general laws. It is bound by the will 
of the majority; and though it is, certainly, possible, that, the 
interests and the willof that majority may beoppugnanttothose 
of the minority, the latter must submit. It is tlie case of 
every popular government. The municipal laws which dis- 
pose of the properties and lives of the citizens are frequently 
enacted by small majorities. Such was the case, in the de- 
claration of our independence, where the minority was large, 
and respectable tor probity and wealth ; in the formation of 
the Constitution of the United Slates, in the General Con- 
vention, and its adoption by the several State Conventions ; 
and in several of tlie most important laws enacted by the 
General Government. It is possible this power may be 
abused; but abuse is incident to all power; and we cannot 
trust to that reasoning, which argues the non-existence of 
power from its possible abuse. 

X. Let us look, for a moment, to the consequences which 
flow, necessarily, from the adverse doctrine, 'i'here are now 
twenty-four States, and each may, in its sovereign capacity, 
decide for itself, in the last resort, what is the true construc- 
tion of the Constitution; what are its powers, and what the 
obligation founded upon it. We may then have twenty-four 
honest, but different, expositions of every power and every 
obligation involved in it. What one State may deny, another 
may assert; what one may assert at one time, it may deny, 
at another. This is not hypothesis, but history. No constitu- 
tional question has been agitated, on which different States, 
expressing opinions, have not expressed different opinions; 
and there have been, and must be, from the mutable nature 
of legislative bodies, cases in which the same State, expresses 
different opinions. i.\t one period, Massachusetts deemed the 
embargo of 1807 unconstitutional; at another, constitutional. 
In ISIO, Virginia held, that, the Supreme Court was the com- 
mon arbiter; in 1829, she repudiated this doctrine. At the 
very moment, that South Carolina was preparing to demon- 
strate, by force of arms, the unconstitutionality of the Amer- 
ican System, Pennsylvania expressed, in the strongest man- 
ner, her conviction, not only of its legality and expediency, 
but her fixed resolution to maintain it: And, it is even now 



192 NULLIFICATION AND PROCLAMATION. 

highly }X)ssible, that this latter State, through the influence 
of party, may yet give us resolutions altogether of adverse 
character. 

347. What then is to become of the Constitution, if its 
powers are to be thus, perpetually, subject to the variant con- 
struction of twenty-four tribunals ? What exposition shall be 
deemed authoritative ] Are the oppugnant constructions of 
the States to be obligatory within their respective territories ? 
If so, the same Constitution would at no time be operative 
upon the whole people of the United States. Is the power, 
doubted or denied, by a State, to be suspended, wholly, or in 
that State, only ? In either case, the Constitution, as a system, 
is destroyed. Is not the power in a State to nullify the lavv's, 
far more dangerous and mischievous man the power granted 
by all the States to the Judiciary to construe the Constitution ? 
If Congress declare war, shall one State liave powder to sus- 
pend it? If Congress make peace, shall one State have pow- 
er to prolong the war? Yet such must be the inevitable con- 
sequences, if every State may, for itself, judge of its obliga- 
tions under the Constitution. It is obvious, therefore, that 
nullification is revolution, is disunion, — is the efficient and 
direct mean for the destruction of national character and 
prosperity, — and that, its prosecution, must break up the 
country into hostile geographical sections, nay, must array al- 
most every State against the others, and reduce us to the 
condition of the Ishmaelite, whose hand is against every man,' 
and every man's hand against him ; or, to the still worse con- 
dition of our southern neighbours, the late Spanish colonies, 
when all rules for the preservation of property, freedom and 
life, were at the mercy of selfish partisans. 

J348. Notwithstanding these conclusions, which seem so 
obvious and so inevitable, so obnoxious were the tariff laws, 
and so deep and exciting the delusion relating to them, in 
South Carolina, that a State Convention, authorized by the 
State Legislature, by a very inconsiderable majority, was em- 
powered to consider of the case, and to mature and apply the 
remedy of nullification. That Convention passed an ordi- 
nance, declaring, in effect, that, the laws imposing duties 
upon imposts, and more especially the acts of May 1828 
and July 1832, are unauthorized by the Constitution, void, 
and not binding upon the citizens or officers of that* State : 
That it was unlawful for any of the constituted authorities of 
that State, or of the United States, to enforce the payment 
of the duties imposed by these acts, within the State; and, 



NILLIFICATION AND PROCLAMATION. 193 

that, the Lefrislature should pass such laws as were neces- 
sary to give full effect to the ordinance : That in no case, de- 
cided in tiie Courts of the State, wherein shall be drawn into 
question the validity of the ordinance, the acts of the Legis- 
lature designed to give it effect, or the said laws of the United 
States, should an appeal be allowed to the Supreme Court of 
the United States, or any copy of the record be permitted or 
allowed for that purpose; and, that, any person attempting to 
take such appeal, should be punished, as for contempt of 
court: And finally, that the people of South Carolina would 
maintain the ordinance at every hazard, and would consider 
any act of Congress authorizing the employment of a military 
force against the State, or abolishing or closing the ports of the 
State, or otherwise obstructing the free ingress or egress of 
vessels, or any other act of the Federal Government, to coerce 
the State, shut up her ports, embarrass or destroy her com- 
merce, or to enforce the said acts, otherwise than through the 
civil tribunals of the country, as inconsistent with the longer 
continuance of South Carolina in the Union; and that, the 
people of the State would, thenceforth, hold themselves ab- 
solved from all further obligation, to maintain their political 
connection with the people of the other States, and would 
forthwith proceed to organize a separate Government. 

349. The Convention also proposed an appeal to a Conven- 
tion of the States, as authorized by the Constitution, and ex- 
pressed the willingness of the State to submit the controversy 
to that tribunal; and subsequently the State Legislature 
passed a resolution demanding the call of such Convention. 

350. The President of the U. States has never, we belie-vc, 
professed the ultra doctrines of the southern politicians in re- 
lation to State rights, but he can scarce be acquitted of hav- 
ing encouraged their proceedings, by the ready ear which he 
lent to their complaints, and the sympathy which he expressed 
for their interests. The speech of Mr. Hayne against Mr. 
Webster's exposition of the character of the Constitution, had 
been, if not adopted by ihe party, as an exposition of its faith, 
lauded to the echo, printed on satin, and enshrined in gold ; 
yet that speech contained all the doctrines, almost the words, 
of the proclamation with which the same gentleman defied 
the General Government. 

In the message to Congress, of Dec. 4th, 1832, the President 
discountenanced, utterly, the whole American System, repu- 
diating every idea of duties for the protection of domestic in- 
dustry, and the reservation of funds Ibr internal improve- 

17 



134 NULLIFICATION AND PROCLAMATION. 

merits. " The soundest maxims of public policy," lie said, 
" and the principles upon which our republican institutions \ 
are founded, recommend a proper adaptation oi' the revenue 
to the expenditure; and they also require, that the expendi- 
ture shall be limited, to what, by an economical administra- 
tion, shall be deemed consistent with the simplicity of the 
Government, and necessary to an efficient public service." 
" Experience, our best guide, upon this, as upon other sub- ' 
jects, makes it doubtful, whether the advantag-es of this sys- 
tem, (the protective) are not counterbalanced by many evils; 
and whetlier it does not tend to beget, in the mind of a large 
portion of our countrymen, a spirit of discontent and jealousy, 
dangerous to the stability of the Union." " But those who 
vested their capital in manufacturing establishments, cannot t 
expect that the people will continue, permanently, to pay 
high taxes for their benefit, when the money is not required 
for any legitimate purpose, in the administration of gov- 
ernment. Is it not enough, that the high duties have been 
paid, as long as the money arising from' them could be ap- 
plied to the common benefit, in the extinguishment of tlie 
public debt! Those who take an enlarged view, of the con- 
dition of our country, must be satisfied that, the policy of pro- 
tection must be ultimately limited to those articles of dom.estic 
manufacture which are indispensable to our safety, in time 
of war." This last is a point to which, though by covert 
ways, the President had been continually approaching. 
True, he says, "Large interests have grown up under the 
implied pledge of our national legislation, which it would 
seem the violation of public faith, suddenly, to abandon." 
But, he adds, clearly in propitiation of the South, " Noth- 
ing could justify it, but the public safety, which is the su- 
preme law." 

351. We protest, most earnestly, against the doctrines of 
the President, in the foregoing extracts. The reduction 
of taxes consequent on the payment of the public debt, 
does not involve, necessarily, the abolition of protecting 
duties. For, in the production of the sum requisite to a 
wise, economical, yet liberal support of tlie functions of the 
Government, the high duties upon the imports rivaling our 
own productions, may well be continued, so long as the for- 
eign manufacture may compete with them. If the protected 
articles be of general consumption, there could be no objec- 
tion to raise the whole revenue of the Government upon 
them; the tax would be equal. Perhaps the consumption 
may be somewhat unequal ; but the greatest inequality pre- 



Nti^LIFICATION AND PROCLAMATION. 195 

vails, in the region where the articles are produced, and 
those who have the benefit of the protection pay the duty. 
But in truth, the consumption of few articles is more general, 
than those protected by the tariff. Coarse cottons, woollens 
and iron, are used every where, and therefore no inequality 
can subsist in the payment of the tax raised upon them. No 
one pays, save him who use, the goods, and only in proportion 
to his consumption. 

352. Whatever may have been the sympathy of the Presi- 
dent for sufferings of the South, it was impossible, without 
virtual treason to his high place and the Union, that he could 
permit the doctrines and proceedings of the South Carolina 
disunionists to pass without reproof and restraint. He issued 
his proclamation, therefore, dated 10th December, 1832, writ- 
ten, as is understood, by Mr. Livingston, Secretary of State, 
in which, taking, substantially, the grounds we have stated, 
in support of the authority of the United States, he announced 
his intention to enforce the laws — awakening the political 
enthusiasts, if not to a sense of the treasonable nature of 
their designs, to a conviction of the horrors which must at- 
tend their execution, — and assuring them, that, however, on a 
one sided, theoretic, view, nullification might seem a peace- 
able remedy, it was, in practice, disunion and civil war. This 
course of the President was required by the voice, of the 
country, of twenty-three States; and though, it may not be 
doubted, that he would, under other circumstances, have per- 
formed his duty, that performance was now imperatively com- 
manded, and inevitable. 

Addressing the inhabitants of S. Carolina, he exclaimed, " f 
adjure you, as you honour their memory, [of their ancestors] — 
as you love the cause of freedom, to which they dedicated their 
lives — as you prize the peace of your country, the lives of its 
best citizens, and your own fair fame, to retrace your steps. 
Snatch from the archives of your State, the disorganizing 
edict of its Convention — bid its members to reassemble, and 
promulgate the decided expressions of your will to remain in 
the path which alone can conduct you to safety, prosperity 
and honour — tell them, that, compared to disunion, all other 
evils are light, because that brings with it an accumulation 
of all — declare that you will never take the field, unless the 
star-spangled banner of your country shall float over you — 
that you will not be stigmatized, when dead, and dishonoured 
and scorned while you live, as the authors of the first attack 
on the Constitution of your country ! Its destroyers, you can- 



196 NULLIFICATION AND PROCLAMATION. 

not be. You may disturb its peace — you may interrupt the 
course of its prosperity — you may cloud its reputation of sta- 
bility — but its tranquillity will be restored, its prosperity will 
return, and the stain upon its national character will be trans- 
ferred, and remain an eternal blot on the memory of those 
who caused the disorder." 

353. This gentle and proper attempt to stay the wayward 
and dangerous career of the State, was unavailing. By in- 
structions from "the Legislature, its Governor, on the 20th De- 
cember, 1832, issued a counter-proclamation, " warning the • 
good people of the State, against the attempt of the President 
of the United States, to seduce them from their allegiance, 
exhorting them to disregard his vain menaces, and to be pre- "' 
pared to sustain the dignity and protect the liberty of the State, * 
against the arbitrary measures of the President." This service 
was performed by Governor Hayne, with all the earnestness 
and sincerity which has marked his course in this unhappy 
affair, and the ability which distinguishes him. In its exe- 
cution, however, very little matter of new interest was evol- 
ved. The State was formally arrayed against the United 
States, and the occasion, which might soon present itselfj 
was alone wanting, to plunge the whole country into all the 
horrors of a servile and a civil war — to settle an abstruse 
point in the uncertain science of political economy. 

354. But the forceful collision which was thus growing up 
between South Carolina and the General Government was 
but a part of the melancholy case. The citizens of the State 
were nearly equally divided among themselves, and it became 
necessary to prepare, not only for a conflict with the military 
power of the Union, but, for the armed resistance of the t/mo?i 
'party within the State ; and it became obvious that secession 
from the Union, if attained, must be through a civil war, in 
which father would be arrayed against son, brother against 
brother, and friend against friend. 

355. Legislative measures were adopted by the State, to 
render the revenue laws inoperative; by removing, from the 
custody of the revenue officers, such goods as should be seiz- 
ed for non-payment of duties; and the military resources of 
the State were organized to sustain the State authorities. 
At the opening of the session of Congress, the President had 
expressed his conviction, that the existing laws of the United 
States were adequate to the occasion; but, with the develop- 
ment of the warlike character of the opposition, the necessi- 
ty of new powers became apparent, and these on the 16th of 



NULLIFICATION AND PROCLAMATION. 197 

January, 1^33, were demanded from Congress, and soon 
after ^iven to him by law. 

356. Before the 1st of February, 1933, the day fixed for the 
commencement of nullification, a change came over the spirit 
of South Carolina, honorable alike to its sagacity and its pa- 
triotism. Although the tariff' burden was sufficient to pro- 
voke complaint, it was not so grievous as to induce the other 
complaining States to separate from the Union, or to plunge 
desperately into civil war. The adjacent States were more 
disposed to assume the character of umpires and peace- 
makers, than of allies, in the war. The State of Virginia, 
by a formal embassy, of which JNIr. Benjamin VVatkins Leigh 
was the commissioner, urged peace and procrastination. 'J'his 
event was so seasonable and appropriate, that it could not bet- 
ter have fitted the denouement, had it been an originally pre- 
pared part of the drama. Light, too, was seen to break forth 
from the clouds of debate in the congressional Halls; and 
even in the message of the President, asking new powers to 
enforce the laws, auspicious signs were recognized. 

Instead, therefore, of nullification and its dreadful conse- 
quences, the 1st of February, 1833, found the nullifiers arm- 
ed with — patience; and resolute to endure, for another year, 
at least, — the intolerable burdens they had so long borne. 
This temper, prudent and patriotic, was fated to meet a 
speedy reward. 

357. A combination of causes had borne conviction to the 
minds of the friends of the tarifl!" system, that it stood in the 
most imminent danger of early death. The power of the ad- 
ministration was known to be against it — the influence of 
that power had predominated in the late presidential elec- 
tions, — it was foreseen, that, thorough partisans, now perfect- 
ly drilled, would surrender all the principles which did not 
tend to party and official ends — it was to be dreaded, that, vio- 
lence, committed by the General Government against one 
■southern Slate, might induce a southern confederacy — and it 
became daily more probable, that, even the protecting duties 
would produce a larger revenue, than the country required. 
Under these circumstances, it was deemed more prudent to 
yield for a season to the tide, than to be swept before it; — to 
bend to the blast, than to be uprooted; and that the friends of 
domestic manufactures should take the modification of the law 
into their own hands, rather than entrust it to the mercy of 
their enemies. 

358. Mr. Clav, with sagacity and civil courage which has 

17* 



198 NULLIFICATION AND PROCLAMATION. 

more than once distinguished him in political dangers, stepped 
forth, at the risk of present popularity, and, proposed, by a 
gradual reduction, within the period of nine and a half years, 
to abandon the policy of tariff protection. This proposition 
coincided with the interests of the North, as it gave time for 
the manufactures, which could be acclimated, to take root, 
and with the professed geneiosity of the South, which boast- 
ed that it did not seek prematurely to destroy — what it had 
forcibly aided to plant. The proposition was not a surrender, 
but a covenant of non user, of the right of protection, after- 
a designated period of enjoyment. It was a compromise of 
interests; such a compromise, as we shall probably find, re- 
peatedly, necessary, and as will, we trust, be as repeatedly 
made, tor the Union. 

After momentary astonishment, the proposition was re- 
ceived, with enthusiastic pleasure by a large majority of both 
Houses, and of the people ; the proposer was hailed as a gen- 
eral pacificator; and when the amending bill had passed, the 
country breathed with the freedom of a man who had been 
relieved from an agonizing burden. 

359. The South Carolina Convention re-assembled, early 
in March, and during a short session passed two ordinances: 
the one repealing the nullifying ordinance of the preceding 
November, and all laws passed by the Legislature in pursu- 
ance thereof, excepting that relating to the militia; the other 
nullifying the act of Congress, passed upon the recommenda- 
tion of the President, " further to provide for the collection of 
the duties on imports," which they denominated the force 
bill. The last was an offering to self-complacency. With 
the opposition of the State, that bill became a nullity, had 
nothing to operate upon, and the peaceful relations between 
the State and the Union were again restored. The crisis 
had been to the State one of great interest and injury. The 
dominant party had pursued their course with the usual in- 
tolerance of party ; had prescribed unconstitutional oaths and 
pledges ; had excited fearful alarm among the peaceful and 
better disposed population ; had disturbed commercial confi- 
dence, and interrupted the usual course of business — and had 
driven from the confines of the State very many of her most 
useful and respectable inhabitants, among whom were Judge 
Smith, late a Senator of the United States, and Wm. Henry 
Drayton, late a distinguished representative in Congress; who, 
though unfriendly to the tariff, reprobated nullification as the 



NULLIFICATION AND PROCLAMATION. 199 

instrument of disunion. — She drew upon herself evils which 
may require years of prosperity to remedy. 

^60. But South Carolina was not without the show of 
triumph. Seven States of the Union, whose whole free 
'population amounted only to 771,218 souls, by the last cen- 
sus, a majority of whom would be less than 400,000, scarce 
double the population of New York, had obtained from the 
nation, consisting of ten millions of freemen, a sacrifice 
wiiich might cripple its energies, and stay or impede its 
march to power and happiness. But this is a triumph of de- 
mons blasting the happiness of the human race. Such, how- 
ever, as it is, she owes it to the mercy, the forbearance, the 
philanthropy of the vanquished. In a conflict of force, which 
she desperately, madly sought, there was, scarcely, in the 
scope of human conception a mean of safety for her. She 
sleeps upon a volcano, which war would put into immediate 
and destructive action. Her whole military array, could it 
be brought to the field, might be 150,000 against millions ! 
Verily she has had a triumphant escape, and, in her anthems 
of praise, let her not forget the magnanimity of her fancied 
foes. 

361. She owes not her unscathed condition to Gen. Jackson. 
His sympathy and his countenance made her mad. The per- 
formance of his duty to the nation, unavoidably compelled, 
was preparing for her the prison, straight-jacket and stripes, 
when the champion of the American System, in the true 
spirit of patriotism, provided for her, perhaps, the only means, 
by which she could, reputably, recover from her intoxication. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

ELECTION OF 1832. 

362. The election of 18^32 demonstrated the efficiency of 
the presidential influence, when energetically employed, for 
the corruption of the elective franchise. The administration 
was highly popular; but was it justly entitled to the favour 
of the people? In all its leading measures it was opposed to 
the popular voice. It had sought to prostrate the system of 
protection of domestic industry, but had been defeated in 
Congress: It had sought, in some instances, successfully, to 
overthrow all efforts for internal improvement, but Congress 
refused to second the parricidal arm : It had forfeited the pub- 
lic faith with the feeble Indian tribes; dishonoring the nation 
before the world and posterity: It had striven to establish a 
national Bank, which might give to it an illimitable money 
influence in every section of the Union; but, the object had 
been detected, exposed and indignantly rebuked, by the House 
of Representatives : It had abased the country by supplicat- 
ing, in the tone of a mendicant, favours from a foreign pow- 
er, when it should have demanded the enjoyment of rights; 
and the adviser of the humiliation, had been branded by the 
Senate of the United States, as destitute of the first quali- 
ty of the statesman, a due regard for the country he would 
govern: It had most audaciously calumniated the fiscal organ 
of the country, charging insolvency, where were the most 
abundant means of payment, and the highest commercial re- 
putation; and the falsehood was cast into its teeth, by the 
House of Representatives, after deliberate consideration and 
thorough investigation: It had opposed the caprice and the 
veto of the President, against the deliberate judgment of the 
representatives of the people upon questions of sheer expedi- 
ency ; reducing the country, in repeated instances, to the 
condition of despotism, where the will of an individual mars 
the wishes and the weal of the nation. 

Still, the administration was popular, very popular. It had 
entered upon power with a decisive majority in both Houses 
of Congress ; the first term of service ended with a decisive ma- 
jority in both Houses against it. Still, with all its principal mea- 
sures rejected and condemned, bv the representatives of the peo- 

200 



ELECTION OF 1832. 201 

pie, with its war against the wishes and the interests of the na 
tion, openly made, by rejection of the most popular laws, the 
administration was popular. This is a new problem in poli- 
tics, that calls for solution. 

363. This solution is to be found in the new relation wliich 
had been created between the President and the people, upon 
which we have already had occasion to comment. The legis- * 
lative power of the President, is confined by the Constitution 
to the exercise of the veto, in which it was never contem- 
plated that the President should seek or employ the expres- 
sion of popular favour, to support himself against the legiti- 
mate expression of the national will, through its constitutional 
organ, the Congress of the United States. A new power was 
erected, in the assemblages of party, which, directed by pres- 
idential influence, was to have a controlling influence over 
the action of Congress, and justify all the measures of the ad- 
ministration, however hostile to the measures of the legisla- 
tive body, to which the President held himself at liberty at 
all times to appeal. Did Congress endeavour to improve the 
condition of the country by wise and liberal appropriation of 
the public funds, the President nullified its intentions by re- 
fusing his assent to its acts, reproached it with corruption and 
extravagance, and appealed to his party, as to the people, for 
the justification of his power, and his indecorum. Did Con- 
gress pass an act for preserving and regulating the currency 
of the country, for the collection and disbursement of the pub- 
lic funds, by the reorganization of an approved and faithful 
fiscal agent, the President thwarted its will, by the rejection 
of the law, and appealed to the people, whose voice he found 
in the clamours of instructed and pensioned ofticial subordi- 
nates, and in the echoes of hireling presses. Did Congress 
pass a law for internal improvement, with the sanction of the 
President, he claimed the right to suspend its operation when- 
ever he should discover that it was not compatible with his 
views of expediency, relying upon the support of the same sur- 
reptitious, self-created organs of the people. Did long estab- 
lished treaties and laws require the interposition of the exec- 
utive arm, to protect the Indian nations against encroach- 
ment and violence, the President refused to perform the duty, 
claimed the right to declare the treaties, and the laws enacted 
by his predecessors, unconstitutional, and to suspend their ob- 
ligation; averring that, his sense of their constitutionality 
must overpower that of the Legislature and the Judiciary ; 



202 ELErTioN OF 1832. 

and that, he was bound to consider no laws as constitutional, 
but as he should understand them. Does the Senate reject 
nominations to office, on account of the insufficiency of the 
nommees, or the impropriety of the selections, the President 
appoints them to the same or other stations, by his own bare 
will, — does he recommend a rejected nominee to the second 
office in the gift of the people, and thus bring the power of 
his own high station to the control of the polls, he finds justifi- 
cation for all these acts of lawless power, in what he ven- 
tures to call the voice of the people. 

364. With equal indecorum and injustice. President Jack- 
son reproached his immediate predecessor with having brought 
" the patronage of the Federal Government into conflict with 
the freedom of elections;" but, supposing an impossibility, 
that the gross interference of the federal officers in the elec- 
tions of every part of the country, not to have his sanction, ' 
what shall be said of his effort to influence the public voice 
in the election of Vice President, whom the Constitution hag 
provided, in certain contmgency, to succeed him'? This 
glaring perversion of the duties of his office, is thus, shame-' 
lessly, blazened to the world in the columns of the Globe. 

After enumerating the political offences charged upon Mr. 
Van Buren, in which the participation of the President is 
avowed, the Editor proceeds: "Could charges more dishon- 
ourable to the President, or more wounding to his feelings, 
be invented or promulgated] How must 'the Conqueror of 
Napoleon's Conquerors' feel, when charged with humbling 
his country ' at the foot of the British throne?' How must ' 
one who is born to command, whose own energetic mind, 
now, gives impulse to all around him, as it has ever done, 
feel, when charged with subserviency to those whom he di- 
rects? The point of the shaft which has been aimed at his 
patriotism and honour, is certainly blunted, by the considera- :' 
tion, that it w^as sped by a coalition of political aspirants who • 
are unable to conceal their selfish objects under the simu- ' 
Jated veil of 'American feeling,' and mock morality. But 
the blow would be felt by him in all the force with which it 
w-as aimed, if his friends and countrymen did not step for- 
ward to ward it off— if, when assailed by open enemies and 
traitorous friends, the American people, and those whom he 
has ably defended in war, and faithfully served in peace, do 
not rally around and sustain him, he must feel, that honest 
exertions in the public service, are no shield against heart- 



EI>ECT10N OF 1832. 203 

less intrigue, and may, with truth, repeat the reniark, ' Re- 
publics are ungrateful.' His re-election to the presidency 
will be no reparation for the attack upon his honour. If the 
people re-elect him, and at the same time condemn his acts, 
he will tecl that he re-enters upon the arduous duties of 
Chief Magistrate dishonoured:' * * * "The people will 
not permit this slate of things. The friends of the President, 
whetiier they personally like Mr. Van Buren or nut, will rally 
round him and do justice to his motives and his acts. By 
making Mr. Van Buren, Vice President, they will declare to 
the world, that in public opinion, it is not the President, but 
the Vice President, and half the Senate, who have dishon- 
oured the country." 

Will it be asked, is the President responsible for the re- 
marks of the editor of a newspaper? We ask another ques- 
tion in reply — would any President, to whom such language 
and such principles were not welcome, have the one spoken 
ofhim, andtlie other ascribed to him? Nay, we will ask 
yet, another — to Vv'hat President, from Washington to Jack- 
son, the latter e.xcluded, could such principles have been 
ascribed \ The extract we have given, embraces the very 
epirit of the administration. Born to command, all are be- 
neath him, all are bound to obey. And it is this selfishness 
which guides and directs every movement of the administra- 
tion. 

365. But, to return to the new power which the President 
has invoked tor his justification, and by the aid of which he 
defies and laughs to scorn the co-ordinate powers of the State, 
the Senate, and the House of Representatives. In his veto 
upon eight bills of Congress, he referred himself to the 
people, the party, for support; but in none of them more 
clearly than in his message rejecting the act incorporating 
the Bank. At the close of that message, he remarked, "I 
have, now, done my duty to my country. If sustained by my 
fellow citizens, I shall be grateful and happy ; if not, I shall 
find in the motives which impel me, ample grounds for con- 
tentment and peace." And that we may have no doubt of 
the effect designed by the appeal, he hirnself gives it to us. 
In his memorable communication to his Cabinet, on the 
18th September, 1833; he exclaims, "Can it now be said 
that the question of a recharter of the Bank was not decided 
at the election which ensued?" 

The result of this course is to extinguish all other powers in 
the Government, save tho::e of the President and t!ie people,— 



204 ELECTION OF 1832. 

no ; of the President and the party ; and in effect, upon the prin- 
ciples on which that party is managed, as we have heretofore^ 
explained, to vest all power in the President himself. A1-- 
ready is the Senate denounced as a factious and aristocratic: 
body, an excrescence upon the Constitution, controlling the; 
President in the exercise of his legitimate functions, whilst, 
in truth, they do but perform their own. Already has the^ 
House of Representatives, for refusing to execute the Presi-' 
dent's behests, been stigmatized as base and corrupt, — andl 
following out the course which has thus been designated, we 
may expect to hear both bodies condemned, as useless and ex-' 
pensive, whose services may be dispensed with, by the substi- 
tution of the President and the teople — or the party. 

866. Through the influence of the office-holders and of the 
press, the party had, indeed, made a deep impression on the 
people. Tiie measures of their representatives were misrep- ■ 
resented or concealed, — an army of mercenary dependants, ^ 
spread over the whole country, in its cities, its villages, and 
even its hidden vallies, infecting the whole community with i 
the taint of their opinions and their servility; our politics andl 
our political institutions were corrupted in their very foun- 
tains, in the primary assemblies of the people, and in the elec- 
tive franchise. 

367. By these means, in the presidential contest of 1832, 
Maine and New Hampshire were gained over. New York and 
New Jersey were wholly converted, and notwithstanding the 
loss of Kentucky and South Carolina, the President was re- 
elected, by an overwhelming majority; and his nominee for 
the Vice Presidency, Mr. Van Buren, was also chosen. A 
most important change, too, was effected in the House of Rep- 
resentatives. That House, in the 21st Congress, consisted 
of 216 members. The vote on the bill for the renewal of the 
Bank Charter, was 109 to 85; vacancies and absentees 22. 
The census of 1830 gave to the 22d Congress 240 members; 
and the House resolved, in 1834, by a vote of 135 to 82, that, 
the Bank should not be rechartered. In 1832, there was a 
majority of 24 votes favourable to the Bank; and in 1834, a \ 
majority against it, of 53 votes. Supposing the 24 additional I 
votes resulting from the census, to have been gained by ordi- 
nary party influence, it remains probable, that a change, 
greater than twice the majority, in favour of the Bank, had I 
been effected, in the House, by presidential influence. 

We might enter, minutely, into the modes by which this ♦ 
presidential influence has been exercised ; but it must sufficei j 



ELECTION OF 



183-2. . 205 



now, to refer, generally, to the direct interference in elec- 
tions by the United States officers; of which, instances are 
notorious in every district, and of which, the letters of the 
Fourth Auditor, (Amos Kendall) of the 28th April, 1832, and 
28th September, 18i^3, frequently published in the daily jour- 
nals, are Hagrant instances — to the perversion of funds in the 
operations of the post office department, and to the corruption 
of the public press. 

The President received 219 votes out of 286, and Mr. Van 
Buren 189 votes. 



18 



CHAPTER XV. 

THE ATTEMPT TO TAKE FROM THE NATION THE PUBLIC 

LANDS. 

368. No measure of the administration is more deserv- 
ing of rebuke, than the attempt to wrest from the elder States 
of the Union, their interest in the public lands, and the re- 
jection of the bill for distributing the net proceeds of the sales 
of such lands in a just and rateable proportion among all the 
States. 

309. The public lands may be divided' into two classes; 
1st, such as are within the limits of the United States, as de- 
fined by the treaty of peace of 1783; and 2d, such as are 
within the boundaries of Louisiana and Florida, as ceded bv 
France and Spain, respectively, to the United States, 

At the commencement of the revolutionary war, there* 
were, in some of the States, large tracts of waste and unap- 
propriated lands, whilst in others, no lands of this character 
existed. The States destitute of such lands, claimed, that, 
as the war was waged with united means and equal sacri- 
fices, the waste lands, which must be conquered from the en- 
emy, should become common property; and, under the re- 
commendation of Congress, 10th October, 1780, " that the 
unappropriated lands which might be ceded to the United 
Slates, by any particular State, pursuant to the recommenda- 
tion of Congress, of the Gth of September last, shall be dis- 
posed of, for the common benefit of the United States," sev- 
eral States made the required cessions. 

The condition of the cession, much the same in all the 
grants, is most fully expressed in that from Virginia; pro- 
viding, that, all the lands conveyed, '• shall be considered a 
common fund for the use and benefit of such of the United 
States as have become, or shall become, members of the con- 
federation or federal alliance of the said States, Virginia in- 
clusive, according to their usual respective proportions in the 
general charge and expenditure ; and shall be faithfully and 
bona fide disposed of, for that purpose, and for no other use | 
or purpose whatever." Tiie lands were thus received, and 
are holden in trust, for the purposes for which they were con- 
veyed. 

206 



PUBLIC LANDS. 207 

The lands of the second class were purchased, beside other 

considerations, for the aggref^^ate sum of twenty millions of 

dollars, taken from the common treasury of the United States; 

^ and are, consequently, holden for the common benefit of the 

people of the United States. 

370. IJy an admirable system, applicable to both classes, 
all public lands, offered for sale, an;, previously, accurately 
surveyed, in ranges of townships, of six miles square each. 
The townships are subdivided, into thirty-six sections, con- 
taining G40 acres each, by right angled lines. The sections 
are again divided into quarters, eighths and sixteenths; so 
that, the settler may purchase so small a quantity as forty 
acres. This system, admitting every industrious man of the 
community to become a landholder, gives security of title and 
certainty of -boundary, and with them, peace to the possessor. 
But it does more. It lays the foundation of useful civil insti- 
tutions, providing for public education and public morals, 
whose benefits must extend to posterity. 

371. The aggregate sum of money expended, by the United 
States, upon the public lands, inchiding purchase, interest 
and the expense of sale and management, up to the year 1833,. 
may be about filly millions of dollars, and the total of the re- 
ceipts, a million less; exclusive of 4,452,760 acres, donations 
for military services; 2,290,937 acres granted for roads and 
canals, in several States; and more than mne millions granted 
and set apart for schools, academies and universities, and of 
numerous grants for various purposes. Consequently, the 
public domain has, greatly, more than repaid its cost and 
management. 

The extent of the domain of the United States is estimated 
at 1,090,871,753 acres. About 750 millions are supposed to 
be beyond the boundaries of the States and organized terri- 
tories, and the balance, 340,871,753 to be within them. 
These, at the present minimum price of $1 25 per acre, may 
be estimated at the enormous sum of 1,363,589,691 dollars; 
and, though a large portion may never bring that price, there 
are great quantities which at the public sales bring more. 
According to the mode of selling lands, they are first offered 
at public auction for what they will bring in a free and fair 
competition among the purchasers ; w'hen the public sales 
cease, the lands remaining unsold, may be bought, from time 
to time, at the established rate of one dollar and a quarter, 
per acre. The annual average sale of these lands has been, 
for years, steadily on the increase, and is now increasing, 



208 PUBLIC LANDS. 

at a ratio of nearly 23 per centum. In 1832, the net pro- 
duct was full three millions of dollars. This is indeed a 
great estate, producing a present income, of three millions of 
dollars, steadily and greatly upon the increase and enduring 
for hundreds of years. It is well worthy to be called nation- 
al, since froni the table in the appendix, it is apparent, that, it 
may be made to produce to each State in the Union large 
sums for general internal improvement.* To cherish, and 
improve this great estate, would seem to be one of the first 
duties of the first magistrate of the Union; to preserve its 
direction pursuant to the course given by the grants, in one 
class, and the appropriate object of the purchase, in the other, 
his greatest delight. But, instead of this, we find, that ma- 
gistrate striving to introduce a plan for divesting the Union 
of this great property, to dissipate it into air, or give it to the 
new and favoured States. 

372. In his message of the 4th of December, 1832, after sta- 
ling, that the lands were ceded " for the purposes of general 
harmony and as a fund to meet the expenses of the war," he 
observes; "As the lands may now be considered as relieved 
from this pledge, the object for which they were ceded hav- 
ing been accomplished, it is in the discretion of Congress to 
dispose of them in such a way as best to conduce to the quiet, 
harmony and general interest of the American people." And 
then, with that profession of fairness and disinterestedness, 
which is ever the harbinger of some gross and monstrous sel- 
fishness, he proceeds; "In examining this question, all local 
and sectional feelings should be discarded, and the whole 
United States regarded as one people, interested alike in the 
prosperity of their common country ;" and with the instinct of 
a demagogue seeking to propitiate the most wealthy and in- 
fluential class of the people, the landholders, he adds; " It can- 
not be doubted, that the speedy settlement of these lands con- 
stitutes the true interest of the Republic. The wealth and 
strength of a country are its population, and the best part of 
that population are the cultivators of the soil. Independent 
farmers are every where the basis of society and true 
friends of liberty^ 

The Union is, then, threatened, that unless some liberal 
policy be now adopted in relation to the public lands, the 
question, under the influence of a great sectional influence, 
may "speedily assume an importance not now generally an- 

See Appendix, No. I. 



I'L'BMC L.VNDS. 209 

ticipated," and "be more dangerous to the harmony and union 
of the States than any other cause of discontent." He con- 
tinues; 

"Of the various schemes which have been hitherto pro- 
prosed in regard to the disposal of the public lands, none has 
yet received the entire approbation of the Legislature.'* 
{Surely the cxisliriir system had, and was icorking to the 
general satisfaction.) "Deeply impressed with the import- 
ance of a speedy and satisfactory arrangement of the sub- 
ject, I deem my duty, on this occasion, to urge it upon your 
consideration ; and to the propositions which have been, here- 
tofore, suggested by others, to contribute those reflections 
which have occurred to me, in the hope, that they may assist 
you in your future deliberations." 

"It seems, to me, to be our true policy, that the public 
lands siiall cease as soon as practicable, to be a source of 
revenue; and that they shall be sold to settlers in limited 
parcels, at a price, barely sufficient, to reimburse, to the Uni- 
ted States, the expense of the present system, and the cost 
arising under our Indian compacts. The advantage of accu- 
rate surveys and undoubted titles, now secured to purchasers, 
seem to forbid the abolition of the present system, because 
none can be substituted wliich will more perfectly accomplish 
these important ends. It is desirable, however, that in con- 
venient time, tliis machinery be withdrawn from the States, 
and that, the right of soil, and the future disposition of it, be 
surrendered to the States, respectively, in which it lies." 

We may be very sure, that this very disinterested proposi- 
tion did not originate in any one of the original thirteen 
States. Had it come from either of them it would have 
sprung from " local and sectional feelings ;" but coming, as it 
does, from a projector in a new State, and supported by the 
President, a citizen of a new State, which is to participate 
directly in the advantages of the project, it is from those, who 
are "interested alike in the prosperity of their coumion coun- 
try." 

37,1. The reasons assigned for this modest and extraordina- 
ry demand are as extraordinary as their progeny. "The ad- 
venturous and hardy population of the West, besides contrib- 
uting their equal share of taxation under our impost system, 
have in the progress of our Government, for the lands they 
occupy, paid into the treasury, a large proportion of forty mil- 
lions of dollars; and of the revenue received, therefrom, but 
a small part has been continued among them. When to the 

IS* 



210 PUBLIC LANDS. 

disadvantage of their situation, in this respect, we add the 
consideration, that it is their labour, alone, which gives real 
value to the lands, and that the proceeds, arising from their 
sale, are distributed, chiefly, among States, which had not 
originally any claim to them, and which have enjoyed the 
undivided emoluments arisingf from the sale of their own 
lands, it cannot be expected, that, the new States will re- 
main longer contented with the present policy, after the pay- 
ment of the public debt." 

The purchase money of land a tax ! If it be, then is the 
payment of every commodity, in use, a tax ; and the whole 
system of exchanges, throughout the country, a system of 
taxation. A tax we have always understood to be a tribute 
imposed, — an exaction of part of a man's substance, without a 
specific return. But, here, is an exchange of money for the 
most valuable return, — rich and fruitful land, the origin of 
life, of wealth and of happiness. But this land is valueless 
without labour. And pray what primary material is not val- 
ueless without labour] The ore from the mine must be elab- 
orated ; the wool and the cotton must be manipulated, before 
they are productive of benefit. The silversmith who buys 
silver, the cotton spinner who buys cotton, are, therefore, in 
all their dealings, as much taxed as the farmer who buys from 
the Government the wild lands of the West. But, forsooth, 
the forty millions paid for these lands have not been expend- 
ed among those who paid them. True, they have gone, 
chiefly, where they should have gone, — to pay the millions 
expended, for their purchase, for the extinction of the Indian 
title, for the surveys, and machinery for sales, and for the 
payment of the general debt. But, with what grace does 
President Jackson complain that, a small portion of public 
money is expended in the Westi His predecessors were dis- 
posed to expend upon the West freely ; for, it is there, that 
the greatest, the most useful, and the most extensive works 
of internal improvement are required; and "it is in this man- 
ner, without doing injustice to any other part of the Union, 
the proceeds of the sales of the public lands may be applied 
to the special improvement of the Western country; that, 
they may be beneficial to all, expended, among the settlers 
on the public lands themselves, and, while contributing to the 
improvement of the whole Union, facilitate and encourage 
the progress of the new settlements, by furnishing, at once, 
occupation for industry, reward for labour, and the rapid ap- 
preciation of the lands upon which the settlers may fix their 



PUBLIC LANDS. 211 

abodes." But who stayed all this? The discreet and fore- 
casting General Jackson ; whose modest boast, it is, that he 
is wiser than all that have preceded him, and whose greatest 
glory it is to overthrow all they have erected; and whose 
name with posterity will be, the Destroyer. 

But who are, and whence came, these hardy and adventu- 
rous sons of the West? Are they not the sons of the East, 
whose fathers and brothers are still as hardy and adventurous 
as they ? And whence came these sums which pay for these 
lands ! Were they not drawn, and are they still not drawn, 
in large proportions from the purses of the Eastern emigrant, 
who gladly pays his money for lands greatly more valuable 
to him? The reasons, then, alleged in favour of the project, 
have no foundation, and the project itself, originating in fraud, 
is sustained by selfishness. It is opposed by the soundest rea- 
sons, which we proceed very concisely to exhibit, 

374. The reduction of the price of lands must be requir- 
ed, either, because the Government demands more than a fair 
price; or because, that price retards, injuriously, the settle- 
ment and population of the new States and Territories. It is 
seen, that by offering the lands for sale in quantities which 
are attainable by the poorest industrious nmn, the Govern- 
ment has given the most desirable facility to purchasers. 
Of the fairness of the price, the best evidence is the brisk- 
ness of the sales. In four years, from 1828 to 1831, the an- 
nual sales had increased from f 1,018,308 75 to 3,000,000; 
and the rate of increase continues ; although fluctuations in 
sales may be expected, as fresh lands, in favourite districts, 
are brought into market, and according to the activity or 
sluggishness of emigration. 

The Government is the proprietor of the largest quantity 
of unseated lands in the United States. It cannot reduce 
the price without injury to the value of all other lands, and 
particularly of such as are in the Western States, and most, in 
those which contain, or are nearest to, the public lands; and' 
it would, therefore, essentially, injure the great body of the 
yeomanry, and, especially, those who have purchased lands, 
from the United States, at higher prices; who would thus ob- 
tain an equitable claim for compensation. 

A material reduction of price would excite and stimulate 
the spirit of speculation which the present price and quantity 
of land in market, keep dormant; and would, probably, lead 
to the transfer of large portions of the public domain, from 
the Government to speculators, to whom the emigrant might 



212 PUBLIC LA.NDS. 



I 



be compelled to give much higher and more fluctuating • 
prices. 

Such reduction of price could not increase the population 
of the United States; but, might very injuriously promote the 
emigration from several, even, of the oldest Western States, 
reducing greatly, the price of their lands, their population, 
and their currency. 

And lastly, such reduction must greatly injure the value' 
of the lands which Congress has, within a few years, grant- 
ed, for internal improvements, to Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and 
Alabama. 

The large quantities of land, which remain on hand, after 
having been long offered for sale, must not be ascribed 
to the highness of the price, but to the immense quantity 
which the Government keeps in the market ; which the pow- 
er of emigration is wholly incompetent to absorb. Whilst . 
there is more than an adequate supply of the better quality 
of lands, the inferior will not be purchased. 

Nor is a decrease in the price of lands necessary to the ra- 
pid increase of population, in the new States, The rate of 
increase in the whole population of the United States during 
the ten years, from 1820 to 1830, was 33 per cent; whilst 
the seven States embracing the public lands, Vv'hich had a 
population, in 1820, of 1,207,165, had, in 1830, 2,238,802,"' 
exhibiting an average increase of 85 per cent., and demon- 
strating an irresistible tendency of the human tide to their 
bosoms. 

The cession of lands proposed by the President, compre- 
hends in its consequences, the cession of the Vv'hole public" 
tlomain of the United States; for cessions to the present new 
States, would certainly be follovvcd by like cessions to other 
new States, as they should be admitted into the Union. The ' 
value of this donation, we have seen, is, at least, three mi!-. ' 
lions per annum ; with the certainty of enormous increase. 
If such a measure be justifiable, it must be from some radical '. 
and incurable defect in the power of the General Govern- ." 
ment, properly, to administer the public domain, which the' 
most successful experience repudiates; since no branch of 
the public service exhibits more system, uniformity and wis- 
dom, than the administration of the public lands. 

If they were transferred to the new States, at the present 
nrice, notliing would be gained, as it is not practicable for 
ihem to amend the system ; on the contrary, new and variant 
systems would arise, under new and varying laws; and com- 



PUBLIC LAND8 213 

petition for the market would, probably, produce dangerous 
collisions between the vending States, together with a spirit 
of hazardous speculation. Combinations, would be formed in 
this and, perhaps, in foreign countries, inducing gigantic and 
tempting but delusive projects, to which, our history admon- 
ishes us, even our legislative assemblies may lend too ready 
an ear. There is yet another and decisive objection to such 
a transfer. A new and dangerous relation would arise be- 
tween the General Government and the new States. The 
credit on lands was abolished in 1820, because of the hazard 
of accumlating a large amount of debt, in the co-terminous 
new States, forming a bond of interest, sympathy and union, 
possibly prejudicial to the general lien of the confederation. 
But if such relations were dangerous, when the purchasers 
were individuals, how much more dangerous would they be- 
come when the purchasers should be States, between whom 
as debtors there would be a common interest and feeling, ad- 
verse to the rest of the Union, rendered more fearful by their 
remoteness from the centre of federal power] The debt 
would prove a burden from which they might seek relief, 
through nullification and secession. 

In the State of Illinois, with a population, at the last cen- 
sus, of 157,445, there were 31,395,669 acres of public land ; 
which, at half the minimum price, would amount to 819,- 
622,480. A debt of which she could not pay either princi- 
pal or interest. 

Delinquency on the part of the debtor States would be in- 
evitable, for which there would be no remedy, save force, a 
remedy worse than the disease; and the only safe alternative 
would be a release of the debt. 

A sale for a nominal price would be a gifl; and such gift 
is forbidden by the express conditions of the original cession 
from the primitive States to Congress, and by the obligations 
of the General Government to the whole people, arising out 
of the fact, that the acquisitions of Louisiana and Florida, 
and from Georgia, were obtained at the great expense of the 
common treasure, and for the common benefit. Such gratui- 
tous cession would be a violation of a solemn trust, and a 
gross injustice to the old States. And its inequality, among 
the new States, would be as marked as its injustice to the old, 
would be indefensible. Thus, Missouri, with a population of 
140,455, would acquire 38,292,151 acres; and the State of 
Ohio, with a population of 935,884, would obtain, only, 
5,586,834 acres. In a division of the land among the citi- 



?3 



214 PUBLIC LANDS. 

zens of those two States, respectively, the citizen of Ohie 
would obtain less than six acres for liis share, and the citizeni 
of Missouri upwards of two hundred and seventy-two acreas 
as his proportion. 

Such was the system which the administration of the Gen- 
eral Government ventured to propose to Congress. No one 
can foel surprise that it was rejected by large majorities, in 
both Houses; and that, wise and provident legislators sought 
other modes to disburden the treasury of the superabundant^ 
wealth which was brought into it from this prolific source. .| 

375. This desirable object was supplied by Mr. Clay's bill,' 
\vdiich, originating in the Senate, passed Congress on the 2d 
March, 1S33. This bill proposed, upon just and equitable J 
principles, to divide among the several States, the proceeds] 
of a common property, for the term of five years. It pro- 
vided — 

I. That, after the 31st of December, 1832, there should be 
allowed to each of the seven new States, in addition to former 
grants, 12^ per cent, upon the proceeds of all sales of the 
public land's, made within their several limits, to be applied 
to some object of internal improvement: 

II. That, the residue of the net proceeds of such lands sc 
sold, and wherever situated, should be divided among the 
twenty-four States, according to their federal representative 
population, to be applied by their respective Legislatures, tc ^ 
such objects of education, internal improvement, or paymen?' 
of debt incurred for internal improvement, as they might au- 
thorize; reserving to Congress the power to make such fu- 
ture disposition of the public lands, as they may think proper. 

III. That, the act should continue for five years, unless tlie 
country should be engaged in a v.'ar. 

IV. That, until the 31st December, 1837, there should, an- 
nually, be appropriated, for completing the surveys of such' 
lands, a sum not exceeding $ 80,000; and that the minimum 
price of the lands should not be increased, under the penalty 
of annulling the act. 

V. That, land districts, which in two successive years- 
should not produce net proceeds, to pay the salaries of thei 
officers therein employed, might be discontinued, and the lands' 
be annexed to the adjoining district. 

VI. That, certain designated quantities of land should be 
granted to six of the nev; States, not to be sold at a less price 
than the minimum price of lands sold by the United States 
to be applied to internal improvements. 



I 



rCBLIC LANDS. iil5 

37(5. We have seen, that tlie President, adopting the views 
of olher^j, had recommended, and pressed upon Congress, tlie 
annual distribution of the surplus funds in the treasury. To 
this mode of emptying the public coffers, there are several, 
and, we think, decisive objections. First, it employs an in- 
tricate and expensive machinery to take from the people's, 
pockets a large sum of money, in order to return it, through 
an indirect channel, and in unequal portions; the levy being- 
made upon the ratio of imjX)rted commodities consumed, and 
the distribution upon the principle adopted for determining 
the congressional representation. Second, the representa- 
tives in Congress from the several States, may, by this mode 
of obtaining funds for their constituents, be induced to in- 
crease the taxation, for the purpose of increasing the surplus: 
and, thus, the expenses of the respective States might be 
wholly levied through the national treasury. Third, in pro- 
portion as this should be the case, the State Governments 
would become the dependants, the pensioners of the General 
Government, and the dangers of consolidation would be- 
come imminent. And fourth, as the State Governments 
might not leel the pressure of this mode of indirect taxation, 
their expenditures might not be regulated by prudential lim- 
its; more especially, as an increase of the national imposts 
might bo relied on, for deficiencies. 

377. But, it might be supposed, that, the mind which should 
adopt such a scheme for the distribution of public treasure, — 
a distribution W'ithout limits, and which might lead to great 
evils and abuses, would find no difficulty in approving a 
distribution whicii was limited in amount, by principles inde- 
pendent of legislation, and whicli had no seductive power to 
effect an increase. Yet, here was a new illustration of the 
old saw, " Straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel." 
Whilst the President urged upon the nation the adoption of 
the distribution of the greater portion of the funds against 
which there were grave reasons of inconvenience, and proba- 
bly, of unconstitutionality, he rejects the distribution of the mi- 
nor sum, which is not obnoxious to many of these objections, 
and is probably free from them all. 

The bill for the distribution of the net proceeds of the pub- 
lic lands, passed in Senate, by a vote of 24 to 20; and in the 
House of Representatives by a vote of 96 to 40. It was 
received by the President on the second of March, and re- 
tained by him, until the meeting of the next Congress, when 
it was returned with his objections. It appears, that the bill 



216 PUBLIC LANDS. 

received, in the House, the approbation of more than two- 
thirds of the members; and, it is understood, that, had it been 
returned, in season, to the Senate, it would have repassed 
that body, the President's objections notwithstanding, by a 
vote of more than two-thirds ; but by its detention, the bili i 
was defeated. 

378. The first reflection which presents itself, is, that, the 
President has again, by his veto, restrained and annulled the 
deliberate voice of the people, upon a question of mere expe- 
diency, involving no constitutional principle, by a process 
which has much the appearance of undignified artfulness. 
Under the Constitution, if the President retain a bill longer 
than ten days, Sundays excepted, it becomes a law, as if 
he had signed it, unless Congress, by adjournment, prevent its 
return. This section provides for a special case, the adjourn- 
7nent of Congress. But the present case has another aspect, 
the dissolution o^ \he Congress, which expired on the 4th day 
of March. The President had, therefore, no right to retain 
the bill and, thereby, deprive Congress of the opportunity of' 
its reconsideration, in case of his veto. He thus exercised a 
power against which the Constitution sought to provide, — 
defeating legislation, by retaining bills for an indefinite pe- 
riod. The reason assigned for this course is, that, he had not 
sufficient time for the full consideration of the subject. But, 
the subject was not new. The bill had passed, at a previous 
session of the Senate, (1832-3) in the shape in which, with 
one modification, it was presented to him. Copies of the bill, 
prior to its passage, at both sessions, had been laid before him. 
He had treated the subject, and demonstrated his possession 
of a knowledge of the bili, in his message of December, 1832. 
When, therefore, it was presented for his approbation, on the 
2d March, 1833, he must have been familiar with it. But 
we proceed to consider the reasons offered for the rejection 
of the bill. They are — 

I. That, the waste lands of the West were ceded on the 
express condition that they should be disposed of for the com- 
mon benefit of the States, according to their expenditure, and" 
for no other purpose; and that the bOl is in direct violation 
of this condition; that its operation is unequal, giving 12^ 
per cent, of the net proceeds of the sales to certain States, 
in addition to their equal shares, in the distribution — and || 
making that distribution, not upon the ratio of general charge i 
and expenditure, but that of the federal representation. 

II. That, the bill provides, expressly, that, a portion of the 



W '■ PUBLIC LANDS. 217 

public revenue, given to certain States, shall be applied "/o 
objects of internal improvement or education toithin those 
<S/«/ps," and appropriates the balance to all the States, to be 
applied "fo such purposes as the Legislatures of the said 
respective Slates shall deem 2)roper :" That, under these 
provisions the money of the United States ?;m?/ be applied to 
objects of local improvement, ^*tchich he had pro)iounccd un- 
constitutional, and which judgment had been confrmcd by 
the peopled 

III. That, the bill creates a surplus of funds (or the pur- 
pose of distribution; subjects the General Government to the 
expense of the machinery of the land system; and thus, vir- 
tually, distributes, among- the States, a portion of the general 
revenues; v;hich portion may be increased, from tim.e to 
lime, until all the State expenses shall be t^hus borne and the 
States becoming dependent, consolidation will ensue. 

IV. That, no advantage can accrue to the States from the 
proposed distribution, since the revenue from the public lands 
ibrms a part of the revenue for general purposes, and, if it be 
abstracted, the amount nmst be supplied from the imposts; it 
being necessary to levy whatever sum the public expendi- 
ture may require; and that, consequently, there is nothing 
more gained in appropriating these specific funds than, by a^ 
general appropriation of the same amount from the treasury. 

V. That, the bill will tend to keep up the price of the pub- 
lic lands which should be reduced. " TJic just men'^ of the 
West would not sell, their bright prospect of increasing 
weaUh and growing power, at such a price. 

379. I. To the first objection, it may be replied, that it 
goes only to a part, and the smaller part, of the lands of the 
United States. Ail that have been obtained by the purchase of 
Louisiana and Florida, are free from any restriction as to their 
disposition: they form an unshackled portion of the wealth 
of the Union, and their proceeds may be dispensed, as any 
money, from the public treasury. And we may also add, 
that the power of the Government over the proceeds of all 
the public lands, however derived, has been, unqualifiedly, 
declared, by the President, in his message of the 4th of De- 
cember, 1832; in which it is averred, Khat "It is in the discre- 
tion of Congress, to dispose of them m such way as best to 
conduce to the quiet, harmony and general interest of the 
American people." 

The allegation of inequality in the distribution comes with 
an ill grace from the President, who, in that message, and in 

19 



218 PUBLIC LANDS. 

the very veto message itself, urges, that, the whole of the un- 
sold lands should be relinquished to the new States. Surely 
if Congress may grant the whole of the lands to such States 
it may grant an eighth part of them, for a short and definite 
period. But, whatever may be the inequality of the distribu- 
tion, it is strictly consonant with the policy hitherto observed 
towards the new States; to whom more than eight millions 
of acres have been granted for the purposes of education; 
more than two millions and a quarter for internal improve- 
ments; and by the compact with them, respectively, five per 
cent, of the net proceeds of sales within their respective limits 
is reserved, for similar purposes. 

But the extra allowance is not gratuitous. Increasmg in 
population, by a greater ratio than the old States, if the same 
rule were applied to the new States, they would receive an 
unequal proportion, if the distribution were made solely on 
the principle of population, and by the census of 1830, as is 
proposed. The increase of population in Illinois, for exam- 
ple, is at the rate of 18^ per centum per annum ; and the 
population is, now, nearly double what it was at that period. 
It is obvious, therefore, that if the distribution should be con- 
tinued to her, according to the census, that, she would re- 
ceive, only, one-half of what she would be justly entitled to. 
Again, as the extra allowance to the new States is to be ex- 
pended on education and internal improvements, the United 
States, as the greatest landholder in such States, is bound 
fairly to contribute to that improvement, which, necessarilv, 
enhances the value of their property. 

But does the rule of distribution adopted by the bill, violate 
the deeds of cession? A distribution among the States, "ac- 
cording to their respective and usual proportions in the gen- 
eral charge," is wholly impracticable. That clause in the 
deeds had reference, solely, to the articles of confederation. 
Revenue is not collected from the States, now, in their sove- 
reign character, but from the mass of the community; and 
it is, consequently, impracticable, to ascertain how much is 
paid by the citizens of any one State : Nor does the disburse- 
ment of the proceeds of the lands, from the common treasury, 
more nearly fulfil the rule; for, it can never be known, how 
each State is, in its disbursement, benefited, according to its 
due proportion in the general charge and expenditure. 

But all obscurity upon this subject is cleared away by the 
provision of the Constitution, in which all anterior conditions 
have merged. That declares, "The Congress shall have 



PUBLIC LANDS. 219 

power to dispose of, and make all needful rules and rcgu^.a- 
tions respecting the territory or other property belontrinjr to 
the United States; and nothing in this Constitution sl)all be 
so construed as to prejudice any claim of the United States, 
or of any particular State." The last words of this clause 
relate to certain reservations made to the States, and to such 
claims of a territorial, jurisdictional or pecuniary nature, as 
may have subsisted under the confederacy. Consequently, 
the objection, on the score of inconsistency with the original 
grants, is totally without support. 

II. To tiie second objection, it might be answered, that it 
is founded altogether upon an assumption of what the Presi- 
dent considers a possible abuse, — upon the prophecy that the 
funds will be applied to some local objects of improvement. 
But this objection has never prevented the application of the 
lands themselves to local purposes within the States, nor their 
proceeds to any and every purpose, including pensions, dona- 
tions to foreign States, &c. &c., when such prin^eeds have 
come into the general treasury. If Congress may apply the 
proceeds of lands to such purposes, it may give them, surely, 
in a scale of proximate equality, to all the people of the Uni- 
ted States. 

III. But this bill tends to the creation of surplus revenue. 
Is that a fitting objection in the mouth of one who maintains 
the expediency of the distribution of the general funds of the 
Government]"' Of a system which rushes, with irresistible 
force, to taxation and plunder] The great, the excelling 
merit of this appropriation of the proceeds of the land sales 
is, tiiat it is specific and, necessarily limited, by the verv 
nature of the subject: That whilst it meets the crying 
wants of the country, for funds for internal improvement, 
it gets rid of most of the objections raised against ordi- 
nary appropriations for such purpose; and it fixes a point, 
namely, the net proceeds of sales, beyond which no ingenuity 
can increase the amount. It, therefore, does not lead to the 
creation of a surplus for distribution; but, on the contrary, 
limits the amount which shall be applicable to internal im- 
provement. It is, in truth, nothing more nor less, than a do- 
nation, of an ascertainable and determinate character, of funds, 
in a certain equitable ratio, among the people; of tiie propri- 
ety of which, the people, by their representatives, tiie only 
proper and constitutional organ, not by party representiitions 
and newspaper misrepresentations, as the President assumes, 
are entitled to judge. And nothing but the most shocking ar- 



220 PUBLIC LANDS. 

romance and overwhelming" presumption could induce an in- 
dividual to oppose their decision. 

On this occasion the President again resorts to that power 
which he makes paral^lOunt, because it makes him paramount, 
to the representatives of the people. He assumes, that, this 
bill is contrary to the principle established by him in the 
jMaysville road message; and then proceeds to say; "That 
principle, I cannot be mistaken in supposing, has received the 
unequivocal sanction of the American people." Whence 
arises this confidence] Is it from his re-election ? But since 
the Maysville road message, a new Congress had been elect- 
ed, and of that Congress more than an hundred members had 
voted for the bill. If, then, it be permissable, which we de- 
ny, to draw an inference in favor of a particular trait of poli- 
cy, from the election of an officer, who may have, nay, must 
have, been recommended to the people by many and various 
considerations, ft is still more allowable to draw a contrary 
inference from the election of one hundred officers, all op- 
posed to that policy. But we repudiate every idea of the 
kind. There is but one mode of ascertaining the sense of the 
people upon subjects within the scope of legislation, and that 
is, by the voice of the legislators, duly and constitutionally 
expressed. Any other mode mines the Constitution, intro- 
duces anarchy, mobocracy, irresponsible povv-er and despot- 
ism. A result which Jacksonisra, has, as energetically as per- 
severingly, pursued. 

But, the bill tends to the consolidation of the Government 
— over the States. Yes, if to strengthen the States individ- 
ually, if to fix invariably the principles of the donation, if to 
increase the means of independent existence be to consoli- 
date the States, then, does the bill tend to consolidation — not 
otherwise. But, the bill does furnish a principle of union, 
which should recommend it to every patriot. It demonstrates 
an interest in the common domain, available to each State for 
the most valuable purposes — available, however, only during 
tmion and which must be lost, by any event which dissolves 
the confederation. It supplies, in truth, that common bond 
of pecuniary interest, which was erroneously supposed to be 
created by a national debt. 

V. But the bill maintains the present price of the public lands. 
True. And that which recommended it to Connfress and the 
nation, has rendered it odious to those usurping spirits which 
have hatched the design of plundering the Union for the en- 
richment of individuals and the western States.-A rapine which 



PUBLIC LANDS. ' 221 

is to be perpetrateil, if possible, in despite of the faith of these 
States pledged to abstain from tiie seizure of the public lands 
by the very compacts which admitted them into the Union. 
This is, indeed, the veritable cause of the President's veto on 
the bill. All the other causes, inconsistent with established 
principles and facts, so inconsistent that their assignment 
would be ridiculous, if it were not mischievous, are but tubs 
thrown to the whale — matters to give volume, not weight, to 
the message. The people of all the States feeling, palpably, 
the advantages of the public lands to them and their respec- 
tive States, would never consent to reduce their price to a 
mere nominal value, nor to give them away. It was to pre- 
vent the great and practical value of these lands from becom- 
ing known, that the veto message was prepared; and prepared 
too, so far as internal evidence affords proof, by a senator from 
the south-west, distinguished by his repeated, urgent, but 
fruitless efforts, to divert this mine of wealth from its legiti- 
mate objects. 

The nation, however, has not lost sight of this treasure; 
and we may predict, that, the hour is not far off, perhaps it is 
even now present, when in despite of vetoes and daring plans 
of injustice, it ivill derive all the benefits which it may, from 
diis inexhaustible source of prosperity. 



19* 



CHAPTER XVI. 

THE WAR ON THE BANK. 

380. It was the object of the Constitution to consolidate' 
the United States into one nation, so far as regards their for- 
eign relations and some subjects of an internal character es- 
sential to their' prosperity. Of these, the control over the 
monetary system, by which the currency of the country 
might be established, was among the most important. 

381. Whatever commodity, may by law or general con- 
sent, be universally received in any country, in exchange 
of every otlier commodity and in payment of all debts, is the 
circulating medium or currency of such country — the com- 
mon standard of the value of all commodities v.'hatever; and 
that, which regulates the performance of all contracts not 
specially excepted. The most valuable and most desirable 
qualities of this standard are permanency and uniformity. 
The permanent value of the currency is essential to the safe 
and profitable conduct of business. Whilst it is permanent, 
the dealer may always calculate the result of his operations; 
but if it be variable, that must be uncertain and frequently 
perilous. Thus, if the dollar will, to-day and this day come 
year, purchase a bushel of wheat, it can be manufactured into 
flour at a certain and steady profit. But, if the value of that 
dollar vary, between the tim.e of purchase and the time of 
sale, the manufacturer may be a loser or gainer, as that val- 
ue shall be increased or diminished ; and the success of his 
business will depend upon chance, or on principles which he 
cannot control. 

In all countries, unifcrmity in the currency is desirable, 
both in regard to the facility and safety of business. Thus, 
if the dollar have the same value in London and York, the 
trader is saved much trouble, in the simplicity of his accounts, 
and the traveller the loss which might otherwise arise from dif- 
ference in relative values. And where this uniformity prevails, 
variations in the value, being general, are less injurious ; and 
such uniformity is common, where the same political power 
governs the whole country, and fixes the standard of value. 

But in the United States, where twenty-four independent 
sovereignties might have possessed, each, the power of fixing 

222 



WAR ON THE BANK. 22^^ 

a standard of currency, such standard might have varied in 
every State. The holder of a silver dollar at Boston, in 
travelling through the country, to Charleston, might find him- 
self enriched, nominally, as he progressed, and at the latter 
place, his dollar might be worth a dollar and one-fourth in 
the currency there established. In this case, he would bo 
a gainer of twenty-five per centum ; but if the journey 
were reversed, he would be the loser. The evils growing 
frem this state of things, were susceptible of diminution, by- 
due adaptation of the contracts of trade. But want of uni- 
formity produces with us, from our political organization, op- 
pressions to which individuals can apply no remedy. The 
Constitution provides: 1. That all duties, imposts and ex- 
cites, shall be uniform throughout the United States : 2. That 
representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among 
the several States, according to their respective numbers, to 
be determined by the rule thereby specified ; and that no 
capitation or other direct tax shall be laid, unless in propor- 
tion to the enumeration. Both these provisions are violated 
by non-uniformity m the currency; the tax payer, in Charles- 
ton, paying in the currency of his State, the nominal dollar 
required by the law, pays twenty-five per cent, less than the 
payer at Boston, whose silver dollar may be worth one dollar 
and twenty-five cents of paper. Fluctuation in the currency, 
local and general, is most common to paper money ; but it is 
incident to every species of circulation. A metallic currency 
may vanish under the influence of political alarms, by the ex- 
plosion of mercantile speculations, or the drain of an unfa- 
vourable course of trade. The evils of an unsettled currency 
w'ould have been enormous and intolerable, had not the power 
to regulate the currency been given to the United States. 
The confederacies of Germany and Holland, which liad al- 
ways been inundated with corns, often debased and varying, 
from State to State, in standard and denomination, liaving 
served as useful beacons. 

382. To this end, by the Constitution, Congress is em- 
powered, to coin money, to regulate the value of the domestic 
and foreign coins in circulation, (and as a necessary implica- 
tion from positive provisions) to emit bills of credit; whilst, 
by the same instrument, the individual States are forbidden 
to coin money or emit bills of credit, or make any thing but 
gold and silver a tender in payment of debts. The power 
thus giv£n, it is the duty, not less than the right, of the Uni- 
ted States to carry into efif'ect. This duty has become the 



224 WAR ON THE BANK. 

more imperative, as the prohibition on the States to emit bills, 
of credit, has become nugatory, by the emission of Banknotes, " 
under the authority of the several States, and the consequent J 
establishment of a special currency for each. The money of 
the United States, under this constitutional authority, has 
been established by law, and consists of coins made with gold, 
silver or copper. But, the power to emit bills of credit, has 
also been exercised in a limited and qualified manner. Thus 
the bills and notes of the Bank of the United States and Trea- 
sury notes issued during the late war, were made receivable 
in all payments to the United States. / 

383. The power of the General Government over the cur- 
rency, is too clear to be denied. But the mode of its exer- 
cise, through the Bank of the United States, has been objected 
to, as unconstitutional and inexpedient. The question of con- 
stitutionality, ought to be at rest. Time, the acquiescence 
of the nation, reason, judicial authority, all, have confirmed . 
it; and their influence has converted the most efficient ob- , 
jectors, of whom, Mr. Madison was chief But it has suited 
the views of the Jackson administration to revive the ques- 
tion, and an exposition of the principles upon which it has 
hitherto been settled, becomes proper. 

The power to establish the Bank is derived from the clause 
of the Constitution giving to Congress the power to make all 
laws, which shall be necessary and proper, for carrying into 
execution the powers given by the Constitution, and thereby 
vested in the Government of the United States, or in any de- 
partment or office thereof" It is, tlierefore, requisite to de- 
termine the meaning of the words '^^ necessary and proper" 
in the clause. 

The word "necessary" must not be taken in its strict sense, 
as if it stood alone. It is connected with, and qualified by, the 
word "proper." This last word implies, that what is called 
necessary, may be proper or improper. Hence, the words, 
" laws necessary and proper," are not intended in the most 
limited sense, implying absolute impossibility of effecting the 
object without the law ; but mean such laws as are fairly in- 
tended, and highly useful and important for that purpose. 

That such is the fair and uniform construction, without 
which the Constitution could not be carried into effect, is ap- 
parent, from many laws; particularly, from the acts for lay- 
ing and collecting duties on imports. These require from 
the importer or consignee, oaths establishing the quantity and 
quality specified in tiie invoice. Vet such oaths are not ab- 



WAR ON THE BANK. 225 

snlutely nocossary; because the duties, as in France, mig-ht 
lie efficiently collected without tliem, by means of the appraitje- 
iiient of the merchandise. 

There may be several means of effecting any power, ex- 
pressly given in the Constitution ; no one of these can be 
strictly necessary, whilst any one may be used; and if we re- 
fuse each, as unnecessary, none can be employed. Thus, the 
restriction on the issues of the State Banks, indispensable to 
the regulation of the currency, may be, by a stamp duty, or 
by the influence of the Bank of the United States. But if 
these be the sole means, and we refuse both, because neither 
is indispensable, the object is unattainable. 

To render such means necessary and proper, they should, 
be not only highly useful and essential, but tend clearly, and 
with good faith, to their averred object; not be colourably 
auxiliary to one object, when designed for another. The 
chief ground of objection to the first Bank was, the supposi- 
tion, that it was designed to consolidate a monied aristocrac3% 
and t'urlher party views. These errors have passed away ; 
but they may have left impressions which still affect public 
opinion. 

It is now universally admitted, that the use of Banks is in- 
di.^pensable to the Government. But against all experience, 
it is insisted, that the operations of the Treasury and the reg- 
lilatiun of the currency may be effected with equal facility 
and safety, through the State Banks alone, as through a Bank 
of the United States; and on that ground the constitutionality 
of the latter is denied. To admit, however, that State Banks 
are necessary to the operations of the Government, is to aban- 
don the question. To make and to use, or to make and to 
hire, must require the same power in this case, and be alike 
constitutional or unconstitutional. But every consideration 
of propriety, expediency and convenience, requires that Con- 
gress should make a Bank, which will suit its own purposes, 
and be subject to its own control, rather than use Banks not 
made nor suited to its purpose, and over which it has no su- 
pervision. The power, in either case, to use a Bank, can be 
derived only from the fact, that it is necessary and proper for 
carrying into effect the powers granted by the Constitution. 

But it is not on the useful agency of the Bank in treasury 
operations, that its constitutionality is now mainly placed. 
The States, though forbidden by the Constitution to issue 
bills of credit, have, to all intents and purposes, so done, 
through the agency of the Banks, and the notes of these 



22b WAR ON THE BANK. 

Banks produce the very effect the Constitution intended to 
prevent by the prohibition. The injustice to individuals, thed 
embarrassments of Government, the depreciation of the cur-' 
rency, its want of uniformity, the moral necessity imposed on 
the community, either to receive the unsound currency, or to 
suspend business transactions, all the evils consequent on the 
suspension of specie payments have been as great, if not 
greater, than those which might have flowed from a paper 
currency, issued directly by State authority. 

The provisions of the Constitution for the uniformity of 
taxation are violated when currencies, of different values in 
the several States, prevail. Upon this ground, alone, Con- 
gress would be obliged to provide means for giving effect to 
these constitutional provisions. The uniformity of taxes of 
every nature, is an essential and fundamental principle of the 
Constitution, and our political association. That uniformity 
depends on the uniformity of the currency. Therefore, laws 
to effect this, are "necessary and proper," in the strictest 
sense of the words. 

But there are two means, only, to attain the object, a me- 
tallic, or a uniform paper, currency. The one may be possi- 
ble, but it is difficult of attainment, and if attainable, inex- 
pedient; because it involves the destruction of all the State 
Banks and the established commercial system. The other is 
prepared to our hands ; and we know, from long and various 
experience, will insure a sound and uniform currency; check- 
ing and regulating the greater part which it does not itself 
supply. 

The earliest and principal objection against the constitu- 
tionality of a Bank was, that Congress had not power to cre- 
ate corporations. That Congress has a distinct and substan- 
tive power to create corporations, without reference to the 
objects entrusted to its jurisdiction, is a proposition which has 
never been maintained; but that any one of the powers ex- 
pressly conferred upon Congress, is subject to the limitation 
that it shall not be carried into effect, by the agency of a cor- 
poration, is a proposition which cannot be supported. 

Such are the reasons which have induced the conclusion, 
that the power to incorporate a Bank is incidental to the 
powers, of collecting and disbursing the public revenue ; of 
borrowing money on the credit of the United States; of pay- 
ing the public debt, and above all, of fixing and regulating 
the standard of value, and thereby ensuring, at least, so far 
as the medium of payment is concerned, the uniformity and 
equality of taxation. 



WAR ON THE BANK. 227 

38-1. Upon the question of cxpodienc}', a review of the 
history of tlic Bank of the United !Statc3 will shed nuicii 
light, whilst it exhibits the most respectable authority in fi- 
vour of its constitutionality. 

In little more than two years, after the Government went 
into operation, when most of the distinsfuishcd members of 
the Federal Convention were either in the Executive or Le- 
gislative councils, the act incorporating the first Bank, passed 
both branches of Congress, and received the deliberate sanc- 
tion of President Washington. The constitutional power 
was thoroughly investigated by the Legislative and Execu- 
tive Departments under circumstances highly favourable to a 
dispassionate decision. There was then no organization of 
political parties, and the question was discussed, wholly, upon 
rational and patriotic considerations, uninfluenced by party 
prejudice, which, at the present day, has overpowered the true 
sense of the country. No persons could be more competent 
to give a just construction to the Constitution, than those who 
framed it; and no administration could be more exempt from 
those influences which sometimes pervert the judgment of 
the wise and patriotic, than that, of the Father of his coun- 
try, during the first term of his service. 

The Bank, thus created, continued for twenty years, the 
term of its charter; during which, public and private credit 
was raised, from a prostrate, to a very elevated, condition ; 
and the finances of the nation placed upon the most solid 
foundations. 

When the charter expired in 1811, its renewal was, un- 
happily, for the country, as subsequent events, too fully, prov- 
ed, discussed as a party question. At no time, since the com- 
mencement of the Government, has there been more violent 
party excitement than at this period, — the era of the embar- 
go, non-intercourse and other commercial restrictions, and 
when the stock of the Bank was chiefly holden by British 
subjects, then standing in unfriendly relations with us, and 
by their apologists in this country. These circumstances 
caused it to be looked upon, falsely indeed, almost as a foreign 
^ institution ; yet, with these obstacles, the proposition for re- 
I newal of the charter was lost, only by the casting vote of the 
I President of the Senate, and the majority of a single vote in 
the House of Representatives. 
j In less than three years after the expiration of the charter, 
(the war with Great Britain having been declared) the cir- 
culating medium became so disordered, the public finances so 

i 



223 WAR ON THE BANK. 

deranged, and the public credit so impaired, that the Secrc- • 
tary of the Treasury, Mr, Dallas, with the sanction of Mr. 
Madison, and, as is believed, of every member of the Cabi- 
net recommended the establishment of a national Bank as 
the only mean, by vi'hich the national credit could be revived 
and the fiscal resources be redeemed from ruinous embarrass- 
ment. So obvious, now, was the propriety of this measure, 
recommended by a democratic administration, that though re- 
cently reprobated by the republican party, it was carried 
through Congress, as a republican measure, by an over- 
whelming majority of that party. The bill was rejected by 
Mr. Madison, because it was not such a bill as had been re- 
commended by the Secretary of the Treasury, and because 
its provisions were not adapted, in the opinion of the Presi- 
dent, to relieve the wants of the country. But he premised I 
his objections to the measure, by "waiving the question of 
the constitutional authority of the legislature to establish an i 
incorporated Hank, as being precluded, in his opinion, by re- ■; 
poated recognitions, under varied circumstances, of the va- 
lidity of such an institution, in acts of the legislative, execu- ■ 
live and judicial branches of the Government, accompanied I 
by indications, in ditferent modes of the concurrence of the 
general will of the nation." 

At the succeeding session the Bank was incorporated by a i 
large majority of Congress, with the sanction of the Presi- 
dent. Unhappily, it fell, at first, into hands incompetent to 
conduct it. But as an agent of the Government it was al- 
ways efficient. For thirty-eight out of forty-four, years, the 
Government has had the advantage of this fiscal agent, whose 
faithfulness has received, as it merits, the praise of all whora i 
party prejudice has not swayed. In its present condition, it t 
is the soundest, safest money institution in the v/orld, and ift 
would seem, that to whatever proper use the Government i 
might wish to apply it, a more effective agent could not be . 
devised. 

385. Still it is charged, that the existence of the Bank is i 
inexpedient. It is averred by President Jackson, its great i 
enemy and persecutor, that, it has " tailed, in the great end i 
of establishing a uniform and sound currency." 

If it be true, that the Bank have not establislied a uniform 
and sound currency, it has failed to effect the chief object of 
its creation; and its preservation is a question, comparatively 
of light consideration. But to judge of this, we must com- ■ 
pare the state of the currency at the period, when the Bank 



WAR ON TIIL BANK. 229 

was cliartcrcd, with its condition wlicn the charge was mailc. 
We must look at tliis, as it rejjanls tlie general depreciation 
and also as it regards tiic relative depreciation, or the value 
at one place compared with another. 

330. As to the general depreciation, it appears that dnrinn^ 
the existence of the first Bank of tlje United States, we had 
a sound currency, uniform taxation and stable exchanges. In 
Januar\% 1811, there were in the United States, including 
the national Bunk, eighty-five Banks; whose capital amount- 
ed to fifty-two miiJions five hundred and ten tiiousand dollars; 
notes in circulation to twenty-eight millions; specie fifteen 
millions. In 1811, we destroyed the Bank and deprived the 
country of seven millions of capital, which belonged to for- 
eigners: In 181G, in five years, we liad two hundred and Ibr- 
ty-two State Banks, with a capital of ninety-one millions; 
notes in circulation, sixty-six and a half millions; and specie 
nineteen millions. From the report of Mr. Crawford, Secre- 
tary of the Treasury, in 1820, it appears, that, during the 
general suspension of specie payments, by the local Banks, in 
the years 1815 and 1810, the circukting medium had reach- 
ed the sum of one hundred and ten millions of dollars; and 
that, in the year 131U, it had been reduced, to forty-five mil- 
lions, being a reduction of fifty-nine per cent, in the short 
period of tour years. The effect of the great increase of cir- 
culation was to double the price of property, real and person- 
al, when compared with the previous and present value. In 
otiier words, two dollars would purchase no more of any com- 
modity in 1816, than one dollar would purchase at any time 
since 1819: a specie dollar in 1810, would purchase no more 
th:in half as nmch as a paper dollar will at present. 

The operation of this general depreciation upon individuals 
was this. He, who borrowed money in 1816, and repaid it 
in 1820, paid double the value he had received. The firmer 
who purchased in the former year 100 acres of land, at 100 
dollars the acre, and paid one-half the purchase money, could 
get for his land, but 50 dollars the acre; and when required 
to pay, in 1820, could not borrow thereon a dollar, the balance 
of the purchase money being the full value of the land, which 
when sold, by the sherifi^j was re-bought by the purchaser, for 
that balance; who, thereb}'-, obtained the land, and a clear 
profit of 5,000 dollars, with the interest, perhaps, on the 
whole purchase money, whilst the farmer was irretrievably 
ruined. This was the history of thousands of the most in- 
dustrious and economical members of the communitv. 

20 



230 WAR ON THE BANK. 

The injury to the public was much in the same ratio. The 
Government borrowed, during- the war, eighty-eight millions 
of dollars, at an average discount of 15 per cent. — giving 
stock for eighty-eig-ht millions, and receiving sixlj^-ei^ht mil- 
lions, in such Bank paper as could be obtained. In this state- 
ment Treasury notes are considered as stock, at 20 per cent, 
discount. There was, here, obviously, a loss of twelve mil- 
lions. But, the sum of sixty-eight millions was paid in de- 
preciated currency, not more than half as valuable as that in 
which the stock has been redeemed. Hence, another loss of 
thirty-four millions, resulting, incontestibly, and exclusively, 
from the depreciation of the currency, and making, with the 
sum lost by discount, forty-six millions. The only persons who 
profited by this state of things, were the brokers, money 
changers or bankers, who obtained a gain equal to the loss 
of the Government. To this sum, we must add the loss sus- 
tained by the United States from broken Banks, alone; amount- 
ing, between 1816 and 1819, to a million and a half of dollars. 

A great loss, however, resulted from the relative deprecia- 
tion of paper, at difFerent.places; which, with loss of general 
credit, was sustained by the community in commercial ex- 
changes. During the years 1815 and 1816, the exchange 
between our different cities varied from 5 to 25 per cent. ; 
the ordinary premium for specie being from 10 to 20 per cent. 
The amount of our domestic exchanges might even then bo 
estimated at not less than two hundred millions of dollars per 
annum. If we estimate the difference of exchange paid on 
these, at only 5 per cent., on an average, die industrious 
classes were taxed, annually, ten millions, for the benefit of 
the Banks and brokers. 

These effects, and especially their great cause, the sus- 
pension of specie payments, would not have happened, at the 
time, had the Bank of the United States been preserved. The 
exaggerated increase of the State Banks would not have oc- 
curred. That Bank would, as before, have restrained them 
within proper bounds, and checked their issues; and would 
have had the earliest notice of the approaching danger. It 
would have put the Treasury Department upon its guard; 
acting in concert, thev would have retarded the event; and 
as the treaty of peace was ratified, within less than six 
months after the suspension took place, the catastrophe would 
have been altogether avoided. 

887. And now to the contrast. 

And first, of the soundness and permanency of the currency. 



WAR ON THE BANK. 231 

It is notorious, that specie payments were restored, and have 
been maintained, through the instrumentality of the Bank. 
It has, wherever its operations have been extended, effectu- 
ally, checked excessive issues on the part of the State Banks. 
These issues, it had caused to be reduced, before the year 
1820, from sixty-six to less than forty millions; and since that 
period has so confined them, that every where the paper of 
solvent State Banks is convertible into specie, within the lo- 
cal sphere of its circulation. 

The manner of this restraint, is in receiving the notes of 
all solvent Banks, and requiring payment, from lime to time, 
without suffering the balance, due by any, to become too 
large. On this operation, which requires particular atten- 
tion and vigilance, great fifnmess, with due forbearance, de- 
pends, almost exclusively, the stability and the permanency 
of the currency of the country. 

And, now, as to the uniformity of the currency produced 
and sustained by the Rink. It is more uniform than any 
specie currency can be made. In this respect, it has been 
productive of results more salutary than were anticipated by- 
its most sanguine advocates. No one contemplated, that, the 
Bank would red'^cm its bills at any of its offices, other than 
those by which they should be respectively issued. The in- 
evitable effect of such a requirement, would have been to 
compel the Bank to perform the whole commercial exchanges 
of the country, without compensation. And yet, the Bank 
has done, and continues to do, this. The bills of the Bank 
and of all its branches are invariably and promptly paid, in 
specie, whenever presented at the offices at which they are 
payable; consequently, witbin their respective spheres of cir- 
culation, they are equivalent to specie. If the Philadelphia 
merchant have silver, instead of Bank bills, and desires to 
purchase cotton at New Orleans, he must transport it thither, 
paying the expense of carriage, including the insurance. 
This expense constitutes the natural rate of exchange, be- 
tween the cities, and is the sum the merchant must give as 
a premium for a bill of exchange, to avoid the trouble and de- 
lay of transporting his specie. But the bills of the Bank 
would purchase such bill of exchange at the same price as 
specie. What we have said of the Philadelphia merchant is 
true of every other merchant in any place of the Union. 
Therefore, if the Bank had not reduced the rate of exchange, 
its bills would be of equal value with silver, at every point, 
and for every purpose, whether local or general. 



232 WAR ON THE BANK. 

But, the Bank has reduced the rate of exchange to a mere ' 
fraction of one per cent., and has equalized the currency 
throughout the Union. If the whole circulation were specie, 
the average cost of transporting it from one point to another, 
would be one per cent., and such would be the price of a bill 
of exchange transferring the value. But the Bank, for less than 
one-half per ct., will give a draft, at, and on, the remotest points 
where it has offices. Or if the merchant prefers to transmit 
to his correspondent the bills of the office where he resides, 
although they be not strictly redeemable, at the residence of 
his correspondent, yet as they are receivable in payment of 
all dues to the Government, they are negotiable, at par, and 
are so received by the Bank. In 1832, the exchange opera- 
tions of the Bank amounted to 241 millions of dollars, trans- 
ferred at a premium of one-eleventh of one per cent. 

For all the purposes of revenue, the reception of the Bank 
bills at the Treasury, gives to the national currency, that per- 
fect uniformity, that ideal ])erfection which, in a country so . 
extensive as ours, a metallic currency cannot attain. A bill 
issued at Missouri, is equivalent to specie at Boston, and 
wherever the Bank issues bills, and the Government collects 
its funds. When, therefore, it is considered, that, the Bank 
transfers, with scrupulous punctuality, the funds of the Gov- 
ernn)ont, wherever required, free of expense, it is obvious 
that it has furnished to the Government and the people, a cur- 
rency of absolutely uniform value, in all places, for all the 
purposes of paying the public contributions, and disbursing 
the public revenue. And when the great amount, more than 
twenty-five millions of dollars, is considered, it will be per- 
ceived that a currency absolutely uniform for this operation, 
must be so for the general purposes of commerce. 

Upon the whole, it may be confidently asserted, that no 
country in the world has a circulating medium of greater uni- 
formity, than the United States, and that, no country of any 
thing like the same geographical extent, has a currency at 
all comparable with it, in that respect. 

388. Such, then, were the condition and sources of the re- 
viled Bank of the United States, wRen assailed by the first 
Magistrate of the country, and his administration. It had 
scrupulously fulfilled all the objects of its creation — had raised 
the currency from a deranged and unsound state, to uniform- 
ity and purity ; transmitting the public monies from one point 
of the tFnion to another, whenever desired, promptly, and 
without charge; serving its financial operations, as no Gov- 



AR ON TIIK BANK. 233 

eminent was ever before served; collectings and disbursing-, 
in the space of thirteen years, more than three hundred and 
fifty millions of dollars, without the loss of a cent; reducing- 
the exchange, on the most distant commercial operations, to 
a charge almost nominal, only; in a word, spreading around 
it, all the blessings which security and judicious aid to the 
Government and people could give. All which was acknowl- 
edged and, gratefully, proclaimed, by every officer connected 
with our fiscal concerns, by the Committees of both Houses 
of Congress, and by the millions of citizens engaged in pros- 
perous commerce ; and all which, the Executive proposed to 
jeopard in the maintenance of an abstract opinion, which had, 
tor years, been repudiated by a large majority of the people. 
Can men who would thus sacrifice the substantial realities of 
life to speculative notions, be qualified to guide the destinies 
of a nation? Or, rather, can it be credited, that such notions 
form the true motives of any statesman? 

380. There is a power mcident to banking institutions, 
which is susceptible of great abuse. They may control their 
debtors and their customers, and may be used tor political ef- 
fect. But, in the ordinary, isolated and independent state of 
these institutions, their number and adverse interests almost 
annihilate this power. Their stock and their business are 
distributed throughout the community; and as no one, singly, 
can affect public opinion, attempts for that purpose have been, 
consequently, never made. But, a moment's consideration 
will show, a case wliolly diflTerent, where many of these in- 
stitutions in a State, or in the Union, combine, and are di- 
rected by the will of an individual or of a party. The re- 
straint upon the dangerous power of each Bank is removed; 
the dependant upon bank favour cannot seek relief from op- 
pression, by shifting his account; he has but one mean of ob- 
taining, perhaps, indispensable pecuniary aid; he must con- 
ciliate the bank directors, and their favour is to be purcliased, 
only, by his vote and influence in political contests. The 
possible abuse of this power, by individual Banks, has, by many 
sound political economists, been objected against their crea- 
tion; but, their great use overpowered the objection from pos- 
sible abuse, until their very number became protection. But, 
when the Banks combine, the power to pervert their faculties 
is increased, and the restraint wholly taken away. Amid all 
the excitements of party, for forty years, no one had conceived 
the design of combining the Banks, to control the popular 
voice. No bold and designing politician had ventured upon 

20* 



234 WAE ON THE BANK. 

this expedient, until the subtle genius of Mr. Van Buren 
seized it, in the project of the Safety Bank system of New 
York. 

390. This system, we understand, is not the offspring of 
Mr. Van Buren's scheming and prolific brain. It was be- 
gotten, probably, in the purlieus of Wall street, in the com- 
merce of money cliangers, who looked to it, only, so far as it 
regarded themselves, as a pecuniary speculation, but who 
were fully aware, that the political power it might give 
would be its best recommendation to ^Governor Van Buren 
When first submitted to him, it Vv^as received coldly. His at- 
tention, as he lay upon his couch, whilst the details were 
read, was divided between the reader and a new^spaper; but 
when the suggestion was made, that the combined Banks 
would furnish a power which might, not only check the 
operations of the Bank of the United States, but might so 
control that institution as to render it a serviceable engine 
throughout the Union, instantly, all the energies of the care- 
less listener were roused. No ear of love-sick girl ever 
drank with more intense delight the long desired, but unex- 
pected, love tale. What a prospect was here opened ! The 
Banks of the State of New York, weak and useless for party 
effect, in their individual existence, were hooped together, 
and became, like the fasces, the bundle of banded rods, borne 
by the lictors before the Roman Consuls, the representative 
of irresistible power; whilst the Bank of the United States, 
like a serpent, wrapt all opposing interests in its folds and 
crushed them beneath his feet. The project was instantly 
adopted, cherished, matured, and is now, in New York, in full 
tide of successful experiment. The State, overwhelmed by 
a raonied aristocracy, is bound to the car of Mr. Van Buren's 
ambition. But the beatific vision, which enraptured his sight, 
could not, be immediately and wholly realized. The Bank 
of the United States could not be seduced or coerced to min- 
ister to his unhallowed ends. The attempt to influence it" 
was not omitted, and the war upon that institution, which has 
ensued, so disastrous to the country, but so beneficent to the 
dominant party, is to be ascribed to Mr. Van Buren. 

Let us not be misunderstood. We do not aver that Mr. 
Van Buren openly recommended this safety fund system to 
the Legislature. On the contrary, with his characteristic 
caution, he refrained from this; submitting it as the offspring 
of a man of talents, worthy of the consideration of the Leg- 
islature. It was at first not favourably received. But, when 



WAil ON THE BANK, 235 

he was transferred to the Department of State, at Washing- 
ton, the measure, under the auspices of his Lieutenant Gov- 
ernor, was urged upon the Legislature, as an executive re- 
commendation, and the members were, emphatically, told, 
that its adoption would gratiiy the ex-Governor. By this 
policy, Mr. Van Buren might attain the benetits of success 
and avoid the mortilication of failure, or if tiie consequences 
of the scheme proved pernicious, the odium of its origin. 

39L The safety fund act, passed in 1829, requires, that all 
Banks thereafter incorporated, should pay, annually, for six 
years, one-half per cent., equal to a contribution of three per 
cent, upon their respective capitals — to remain the property o£ 
such Banks respectively, but to be vested under the direction 
of the Comptroller of the State, in productive stocks, subject to 
the payment of the debts and losses, accruing to the commu- 
nity from insolvent Banks, — tliereby, making the combined 
Banks mutual assurers for each other, uniting them in such 
manner, that the whole may be moved by the same impulse, 
and operate irresistibly upon all other I3anks in the State. 
Three conmiissioners preside over this monsler ; one ap- 
pointed by the State, the others by the Banks. These are 
visiters of all the Banks of the association; on the sugges- 
tion of one of whom, the Chancellor of the State is required, 
by injunction, to stop the proceedings of a Bank, and unless 
cause be shown to the contrary, to subject it to the pains of 
insolvency. This power, unconnected with politics, may 
liave little danger, may be, perhaps, useful ; but in the iiands 
of politicians, and in tiio condition of most country Banks, 
especially, in New York, may, and does, make the Banks, 
connected with the system, the subjects of party influence. 

The Safety Fund combination, is hostile to the Bank of the 
United States, essentially; tor that institution circumscribes 
tlic issues of the minor Banks, and discounting at six per cent, 
compels the State Banks to reduce the rate of interest, which, 
by the law of New York, may be seven per cent.; or to take 
the refuse paper of commerce. In the language of Shylock, 
these Safety Fund Banks might exclaim, in relation to the 
Bank of the United States, "Were he out of Venice, I can 
make what merchandise I will." 

It is said, that Gen. Jackson always denied the constitutional 
power to create a Bank; and that on this ground is based, his 
hostility to the present institution. But to this hour, such denial 
does not appear by any official document; and many tavourable 
opportunities have been suffered to pass without the disclosure 



236 WAR ON THE BANK. 

of such an opinion. Certain it is that he has advocated the 
extension of its branches ; has solicited and obtained the estab- 
lishment of one, at Nashville, and sought, unsuccessfully, the 
location of another in Florida. We are assured, that it was 
proposed by himself, or what seems more to the purpose, by 
the inferior council which guides him, to include, in the con- 
gressional message of December, 1829, a recommendation of 
the recharter of the Bank. But this committal was averted 
by the influence of Mr. Van Buren, who believed it could 
never be retracted, and that the safer policy would be, to in- 
timate to the institution impending danger, which submission 
might avert. The attempt had been made to convert the 
Bank into a political engine, and though it had been repelled, 
the design was not abandoned. 

392. Soon after the election of General Jackson, a meeting 
was held, in Washington, of the principal chiefs of the party, 
to consider of the means to perpetuate their authority, of 
which, possession of the Bank was among the most prominent. 
The first manifestation of their purpose was, in June, 1829, 
by an attempt (supported by Mr. Woodbury, then a Senator 
and since Secretary of the Navy, and now Secretary of the 
Treasury, and by Mr. Isaac Hill, late editor of a violent ' 
Jackson journal of New Hampshire, then unconfirmed Comp- 
troller of the Treasury, and now a Senator of the United 
States) to coerce the Bank, to remove the. President of the 
Branch Bank, at Portsmouth, upon party grounds. This 
attempt was countenanced, if not, fully participated in, by 
Mr. Ingham, Secretary of the Treasury, who undertook to 
give the Bank, "the views of the administration in relation" 
to the appointment. 

Upon these extraordinary instances, the Bank deemed it 
necessary to extinguish, if possible, at once, the hope of con- 
verting it into a party agent. The President of the institu- 
tion, therefore, distinctly announced to the Secretary of the 
Treasury, that, the Bank rightly apprehended his views, and 
that it became his duty to state in a manner so clear as to 
leave no possibility of misconception, that the Boards of Di- 
rectors, of the Bank and of its respective branches, acknow- 
ledged not, the slightest responsibility, to the Secretary of the 
Treasury, touching the political conduct of their officers; 
that, being a subject on which they never consult, and never 
wish to know, the views of any administration; That, for the 
Bank, which has specific duties to perform, and which be- 
longs to the country and not to party, there was but one 



WAR ON THE BANK. 237 

course of honour and safety: That, whenever it3 duties came 
in contiict with the spirit of party, it should not compromise 
with it, nor capitulate with it, but, openly and fearlessly, re- 
sist it: That, in this, its interests concurred with its duty, as 
it would be found, at last, that, the best mode of satisfying all 
parties was to disregard all." 

Notwithstanding this decisive rebuke, there lingered in the 
bosom of iMr. Van Buren a hope, that the Bank might yet be 
constrained to submission, or he dreaded to make upon it a 
resolute and unequivocal attack, before the party had been 
thoroughly prepared to sustain it. Whilst, therefore, the 
presidential message of 1829, struck a dreadful note of prepa- 
ration for danger, it reserved a locus pcenitentico, a place for 
turning; and such continued the policy of tiie party tor three 
years. 

893. In the President's message to Congress, of December, 
1829, he is made to observe : " The Clwrtcr of the Bank of 
the United States expires in 1836 ; and its stockholders will, 
most probably, apply for a renewal of their privileges. In 
order to avoid the evils resulting from precipitancy, in a 
measure involving such important principles, and such deep 
pecuniary interests, I feel that I cannot, in justice to the par- 
ties interested, too soon present it to the deliberate considera- 
tion of the Legislature and the people. Both the constitu- 
tionality and the expediency of the law creating this Bank, 
are well questioned by a large portion of our fellow citizens; 
and it must be admitted by all, that it has failed in the great 
end of establishing a uniform and sound currency." 

In this there is^io committal on the constitutional power 
of Congress to create a Bank. The Executive does not even 
express his conviction, that the law creating the present 
Bank is unconstitutional or inexpedient; but he intimates the 
doubts of others, and his own reserve upon the subject. Tlie 
paragraph assumes the character of precaution, for the inter- 
ests of the parties, while it threatens the Bank with possible 
danger. 

The message of 1830 is more explicit of the views of the 
administration. " Nothing has occurred," says the President, 
" to lessen, in any degree, the danger which mauT/ of our 
citizens apprehended from that institution, as at present or- 
ganized. In the spirit of improvement and compromise 
which distinguishes our country and our institutions, it be- 
comes us to inquire, whether it be not possible to secure the 
advantages afforded by the present Bank, through the agency 



238 WA.R ON THE BANK. 

of a Bank of the United Slates; so modified in its principles 
and structure, as to obviate constitutional and other objec- 
tions." Still, not a doubt is expressed of the constitutional 
power of Congress. But the existing Bank is distinctly ap- 
prized of the design of the administration to prostrate it, 
and to establish another, modified on principles which would 
obviate the objections of the President to it. Though the 
non-committal hand of Mr. Van Buren be visible here, there 
is a clear admission of the right of the Government of the 
United States to incorporate a Bank, with an expression of a 
disposition to make one, suitable to the views of those now 
directing the affairs of the nation. 

The subject is very briefly treated in the message of De- 
cember, 1831, thus: "Entertaining the opinions, heretofore, 
expressed, in relation to the Bank of the United States, as at 
present organized, I felt it my duty, in my former messages, 
frankly, to disclose them." To disclose what ? That, the 
constitutionality and expediency of the law creating the Bank, 
was doubted, (not by the administration, but) by a large por- 
tion of our fellow citizens — that many of our citizens appre- 
hended danger from that institution, as at present organized. 
There is evidently a door kept open for retreat, and, had the 
Bank proven itself sufficiently docile and obedient, a very in- 
considerable change in the provisions of its charter might 
have made it, the present Bank, constitutional and expedient; 
and the many citizens, who were conjured up to doubt or ap- 
prehend, would have been annihilated with the same magic 
wand that had called them into beinsf. 

394. The administration foresaw, and events soon made it 
evident to all, that, the nation was not prepared for the ex- 
tinction of the Bank, when the desigfn against it was first con- 
ceived. The first attack was repelled at every point. The 
Committees of both Houses of Congress reported in favour of 
the existing Bank. The Committee of Ways and Means, dis- 
tinctly put, and ably maintained, the following propositions: 
1. That, Congress had the constitutional power to incorporate 
a Bank, such as that of the United States: 2. That it is ex- 
pedient to establish and maintain such an institution; and 3. 
That it is inexpedient to establish a national Bank, founded 
on the credit and revenues of the Government. 

Thus rebuked and instructed, a decent respect for the Le- 
gislature required, that the President should have left the 
subject to them and the people, until he was called to act 
upon it, officially. But this course did not quadrate with the 



I 



WAIl ON THE BANK. 2'ii) 



views of the party — of Mr. Van Buren. The nation, if suf- 
fered to discuss it, solely, as a question of public policy, would, 
it was feared, recognize and pursue its true interests; and, 
in due season, recharter the Bank, and mar forever the de- 
sign of the administration to engross and wield the money 
power of the country. An appeal was, therefore, made from 
the councils of the nation to the Jackson party, who were 
termed the people. It was with this view, and certainly with 
no hope of legislative action, that the President, in December, 
I 1830, brought the Bank question agaii? before the same Con- 
, gross; and with the same view it was again agitated before 
a new Congress, in 1831, 

395. At this session, the Bank, which for three years had 
been invited to a discussion of its claims, applied to Congress 
for the renewal of its charter. And, strange to relate, this 
application is charged by the President, in his cabinet com- 
munication of 18th September, 1833, as having been designed 
to make it a leading question in the election of a President of 
the United States. Was it the' design of the President, in 
calling, so repeatedl}'-, the attention of the Congress to the 
subject of the charter, to make it a political question 1 Sure- 
ly, then, the Bank might seek the arena, in which tlie ques- 
tion must be debated. Was it to obtain a decision of Con- 
gress against the charter, six years before it would expire? 
If so, tJiere was no impropriety in the Bank submitting the 
question, in a form that could not be evaded, only four years 
before the expiration of the charter. The reasons which 
could render it proper and expedient for the President, on ihe 
part of the nation, to obtain an early decision, upon this mo- 
mentous subject, were equally operative upon the Bank when 
acting for itself and the country. 

396. Charges had been made against the propriety of tlie 
conduct of the Bank, into which, the moment, when it asked 
for a renewal of the charter, was the proper one for inquiry. 
A committee of investigation was appointed by the House of 
Representatives; and the effect of their reports, after the full- 
est examination, was the passage of a bill, from the Senate, 
rechartering the Bank, by a vote of 107 to 85. Thus, the 
test which the President affected to seek, the public opinion 
towards the Bank, was applied, and the institution was fully 
approved, by the only tribunal of the country competent to 
judge it. Had the vote upon the Bank bill been taken, solely, 
upon its merits, unprejudiced by party, it is notorious, that 
there would have been a majority of two-thirds, in each House, 
in favour of the bill. 



240 WAR ON THE BANK. 

397. But the hostility of the President to an institution 
which had refused to become the tool of his party, grew in- 
appeasable, as its submission became hopeless. The veto > 
power was again invoked, and used, not upon constitutional 
grounds, but upon those of expediency; upon which the 
sense of the President was again opposed, triumphantly, 
to the congregated wisdom of the nation. In his extraordina- 
ry message of 1832, he declared : 

"A Bank of the United States is, in many respects, co«- 
venient for the Government and useful for t lie people. En- 
tertaining this opinion, and deeply impressed with the belief, 
that soine of the poicers and privileges possessed by the ex- 
isting Bank are unauthorized by the Constitution, subver- 
sive of the rights of the States, and dangerous to the liber- 
ties of the people, I felt it n}y duty, at an early period of my 
administration, to call the attention of Congress to the prac- 
ticability of organizing an institution, combining all its ad- - 
vantages and obviating these ol)jections. I sincerely regret, 
that, in the act before me, I can perceive, none of those mod- 
if cations of the Bank charter, which are necessary, in my 
opinion, to make it compatible with justice, iviih sound poli- 
cy, or rvith the Constitution of the country.''^ * * "That 
a Bank of the United States, competent to all the duties 
which may be required by the Government, might be so or- 
ganized, as not to infringe on our own delegated powers or 
the reserved rights of the States, I do not entertain a doubt. 
Had the Executive been called upon to furnish the project 
of such an institution, the duty icoidd have been cheerfully 
p^erformed.'''' 

398. In another portion of this extraordinary production, 
which, though compiled by many hands, bears the impress of 
the imperiousness of the President's disposition, we behold, a 
new assumption on the part of the Executive. "The Bank," 
it says, "is professedly established, as an agent of the Execu- 
tive branches of the Government, and its constitutionality is 
maintained on that ground. Neither upon the propriety of 
present action, nor upon the provisions of this act, was the . 
Executive considted. It has had no opportunity to say, that 
it neither needs, nor wants, an agent clothed with such pow- 
ers and tavoured by such exemptions. There is notiiing in 
its legitimate functions which makes it necessary or proper. 
Whatever interest or infaence, whether public or 'private, 
has given birth to this act, it cannot be found either in the 
wishes or necessities of the Executive Department, by which <y 



WAR ON THE BANK. 211 

present action is deemed premature, and Iho powers conferrefl 
upon its agent, not only unnecessary, but dangerous to tiio 
Government and country." 

By the Constitution, the President has tlio power to recom- 
mend to the consideration of Congress such measures as lio 
may deem necessary or expedient, and may veto the bills 
which Congress may pass. But whence does he derive the 
right to initiate legislative measures ? This is, indeed, to as- 
sume all legislative power; to concentrate it, in its com- 
mencement and termination; and, if permitted, would render 
useless the election and annual sessions of Congress. This 
initiation of the laws is a relic of monarchical power, which 
absolute princes most reluctantly surrendered. Witliout the 
right to initiate laws, it is obviously impossible for the people 
to attain the great end of government, the establishment of 
their happiness. Every enjoyment flowing from legislation, 
must be the grant of executive favor. But to make consul- 
tation with the Executive, a pre-requisite to the non user of 
the veto power, is to take from Congress the effectual right 
to begin any legislative measure. 

399. But there is anotlier very extraordinary feature in the 
extract we have last made from the veto on the Bank bill. 
The advisers of the President, have made him assert, that, 
neither the wishes nor necessities of the Executive Depart- 
ment required the continuance of the Bank. Now the Trea- 
sury Department is claimed by the President as an executive 
department; and the proper organ of that department, the 
Secretary of the Treasury, at the commencement of this very 
session of Congress, urged upon the Legislature, not only the 
necessity of a^Bank, but the renewal of the charter of the 
existing' Bank. Never did any administration, in any coun- 
try, display, greater inconsistency, than exists between th* 
annual report of the Secretary of the Treasury and the veto 
message. 

The President denies the constitutionality of the existing 
charter, and assumes the right, though the Supreme Coirt 
and Congress have passed upon that question, to support the 
Constitution only as he understands it, and not as has been 
settled, by all the constituted authorities of the land. Mr. 
McLane replies, iu the very teeth of this unwarrantable as- 
sumption, "/^ (the Bank) has, moreover, the sanction of 
the Executive, Legislative and Judicial authorities, and of 
a majority of the people of the United States, from the or- 
ganization to the present time.'' * * * ''And it is be- 

21 



242 WAR ON THE BANK. 

lieved, that in free and enlightened States, the harmony, 
not less than the welfare of the community is best promoted 
by receiving as settled, those great questions of public pol- 
icy in which the constituted authorities have long con- 
curredy 

The President denies the expediency of the Bank ; the Sec- 
retary says, " The indispensable necessity of such an institu- 
tion.for the fiscal operations of the Government, in all its de- 
partments, for the regulation and preservation of a sound 
currency, for the aid of commercial transactions, generally, 
and even for the safety and utility of the local Banks, is not 
doubted, and, as is^ believed, has been shoion, in the past ex- 
perience of the Government, and in the general accommo- 
dation and operations of the present Bank.'' Again : " It 
must be admitted, that the good management of the present 
Bank, the accommodation it has given the Government, and 
the practical profits it has rendered to the community, and 
the advantages of its present condition, are circumstances 
in its favour, entitled to great weight, and give strong 
claims upon the consideration of Congress, on any future 
legislation upon the subjects And again: " To these may 
be added the knowledge the present Bank has acquired of 
the business and wants of the various portions of this ex- 
tensive country ; which being the result of time and expe- 
rience, is an advantage it must, neccessarily , possess over 
any new institution.'''' 

The President says, the time allowed to the present Bank 
for closing its concerns, is ample, and if it has been well 
managed, its pressure will be light. The Secretary re- 
sponds: '' The facilities of capital actually afforded by the 
present institution to the agricultural, commercial and man- 
ufacturing industry of all parts of the Union, could not be 
loithdrawn. even by transferring them to another institu- 
tion, xcithout a severe shock to each of those interests, and to 
the relations of society, generally. 

400. But, yet, another feature, which, in arrogance, has 
never been surpassed. By what right dares the Executive to 
impugn the motives of the Legislature, to insinuate that tlie 
representatives of the people are influenced by private mo- 
tives, in the performance of their public duties] The inti- 
mation, that the members of Congress were influenced by 
private motives in the passage of the act, flowed, doubtless, 
from the same wanton spirit of arrogance, which, subsequent- 
ly, induced him to declare, that a majority of Congress had 



WAR ON THE BANK. 243 

been purchased by the Bank. Had not every sense of na- 
tional dignity been merged in the interests of party, means 
would have been tbund by the Legislature to have made the 
Executive repent of this daring and unparalleled insult. 

401. Although the flood-gates of party violence had been 
opened upon the Bank, in its corporate capacity and upon its 
officers, individually, and its acts had been grossly misrepre- 
sented by the members of the parly, in Congress, by its hun- 
dred presses and by its orators in the primary meetings of 
the people, the administration had not yet ventured to make 
any definite charge of misconduct against the institution. 
But the voice of the nation, so far as it could be, legitimately, 
known, was favourable to the Bank. Vague charges of mis- 
management had not rendered the people adverse to the in- 
stitution; measures of more direct nature were deemed 
necessary, and the desperate and damnable charge of insol- 
vency was preferred against it, by the President of the United 
States, and Mr. xMcLane, Secretary of the Treasury, in De- 
cember, 1832. 

Never did party resort to a more false and more reckless 
denunciation. Had there been any ground to doubt, the sol- 
vency of the Bank, ordinary and honest regard for the rights and 
reputation of others would have restrained their publication 
until actual inquiry had confirmed them. Had a responsible 
individual, in private life, thus attacked the commercial credit 
of an established house, the merchants upon 'Change would 
hsPve withered the calumiator with their abiding scorn, and 
the courts of justice would have branded him as a slanderer, 
and liave taught him discretion, at the cost of half his sub- 
stance. Surely, the laws of morality are not less obligatory 
upon the first functionaries of the nation. 

At the very moment these official slanders were written, 
an agent, delegated by the Treasury, was investigating the 
actual condition of the Bank ; and, a few hours after the sland- 
ers were promulgated, reported, in the most unqualified terms, 
upon its solvency, showing that "the liabilities of the Bank 
amounted to $37,296,950 20, and the fund to meet them to 
S79,.593,870 97: making an excess of $42,296,920 77."!!! 
What other Bank could have withstood such an assault? If, 
in England or France, such a blow had been stricken by the 
Government, against the national Bank, it must have been 
ruined. But Congress, upon tiiis, as upon previous occasions, 
did justice to the-Bank; reproving the calumny against it, by 
■ a vote of the House, 109 to 40, declaring "that the govern- 



244 WAR ON THE BANK. 

ment deposits may, in the opinion of the House, be safely con- 
tinued in the Bank of the United States." 

Subsequent events have demonstrated, that, the purpose of 
the administration, in making this groundless and unprinci- 
pled charge, Vv'as to obtain unrestrained power over the trea- 
sures of the nation, by the intervention of Congress. Had 
not a presidential election been pending, it is probable, that, 
this intervention would not have been sought, but that, the 
bold measure, subsequently pursued, would have, then, been 
resorted to. When the re-election of President Jackson, 
was ensured, the sense of the nation, so lately, and so unani- 
mously expressed,upon the solvency and, efficiency of theEank, 
was openly contemned and derided, and the representatives 
of the people denounced, by the President, as corrupted by 
the institution. Let us suppose for a single instant, that, the 
constitutional King of England or France, should thus insult 
the representatives of the nation. Does any doubt, v/iio is 
familiar with the regenerated spirit of these countries, that 
measures would be taken to compel more respect and consid- 
eration for the people] Yet our Congress, sv;ayed by a party 
devoted to the Executive, has pocketed the reproach, has 
fawned upon the foot that spurned it. With the conviction 
thus felt and expressed, that on this subject the opinion of 
Congress was, and would be, against him, the President re- 
solved upon h coup iVeiat, a bold violation of law, by which 
the public treasure should be taken from the legal depositary 
and put, absolutely, at his discretion. A measure, that would 
have been productive of insurrection in any other free coun- 
try on earth, but which has been borne by the American peo- 
ple, in the confidence that the salutary power of the elective 
franchise v/ould furnish redress. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

WAR ON THE BANK CONTINUED SEIZURE OF THE PUB- 
LIC TREASURE BY THE EXECUTIVE. 

402. Among the prominent objects to be attained by a Bank 
of the United States — was a sate and convenient depositary 
for the public funds. The first Bank, incorporated 25th of 
February, 1791, furnished a safe place of deposite almost as 
soon as the Government had a dollar to guard ; and, though 
not required by law, it became and continued, the depositary, 
with inconsiderable exceptions, until its extinction, in 1811. 
Upon that event, the public funds were deposited, wherever, 
the Secretary of the Treasury deemed most convenient. 
The right so to do, is derived, by implication, from the acts of 
1789 and 1792, autiiorizing the Secretary to superintend the 
collection of the revenue, and to direct the superintendence 
of the collection of the duties on imports and tonnage, as ho 
shall judge best. A wider power, obtained from construc- 
tion, is not to be found under our Government; nor, as 
events have shown, is there any susceptible of greater abuse. 
The sinsfle-mindedness of Mr. Madison, which admitted no 
idea of personal or party interest to mingle with his patriot- 
ism — the integrity and intelligence of Messrs. Gallatin, Dal- 
las and Crawford, which left no doubt of the purpose, for 
which they used their powers — the war of 1812, which, gave 
superabundant employment, to all departments of the Govern- 
ment, prevented inquiry into the legality of power, which, 
if, unwarrantably, assumed, had not been abused. When 
that war, so disastrous to the finances of the country, impos- 
ing upon it the pecuniary burdens which have just been re- 
moved, in consequence of the want of a national Bank, was 
terminated, a proper and safe depositary was provided by law 
for the public funds in the present Bank, in nine-tenths of the 
places where they are accumulated. For their disposition, in 
the remaining tenth, there seems to have been little regard; 
and they may have been supposed, in the custody of the pro- 
per officer, the Treasurer. 

403. The act incorporating the Bank of the U. States, sec- 
tion 15, provides, that, during the continuance of the act, and 

21* 245 



246 WA.R ON THE BANK — SEIZURE OF PUBLIC TREASURE. 

whenever required by the Secretary ^of the Treasury, the 
Bank should give the necessary facilities for transferring the 
public funds, and distributing them, in payment of the public 
creditors, without charge, and should also perform the duties 
of commissioners of loans. 

By section 16, the deposits of the money of the United 
States, in places, where the Bank and branches may be estab- 
lished, are to be made in the Bank or branches, unless the 
Secretary of the Treasury shall, at any time, otherwise or- 
der and direct; in which case, he is required, immediately, 
to lay before Congress, if in session, and if not, immediately, 
after the commencement of the next session, the reasons of 
such order or direction. And by section 20, in consideration 
of the exclusive privileges and benefits conferred by the act, 
the Bank agrees to pay, to the United States, one million and 
a half of dollars. 

From these provisions, it is apparent, that the Bank pur- 
chased, from the United States, the right to have the deposits 
of the public money during the continuance of the charter, 
an advantage equal to a loan of eight millions, without inter- 
est, for which it paid a consideration in money and services; 
subject, hov/ever, to the condition, that, the Secretary of the 
Treasury might, at any time, otherwise direct. It becomes, 
therefore, necessary to inquire, what is the nature of this con- 
dition. 

This controlling power was given for extreme cases, only, 
and for cases touching the conduct of the Bank. It could not 
be, that the Bank should consent to pay a large consideration 
for a privilege, whose duration would depend upon the favour 
of an individual, or upon events, in which it had no part or 
interest. The power of the Secretary of the Treasury was 
limited, by principles of justice, and its exercise must be pre- 
dicated on some cause affecting the safety of the public mo- 
nies in the Bank or their distribution for the public service. 

404. We have seen, that, such cause for action against the 
Bank did not exist, and that, its non-existence had been pro- 
claimed by Congress when the safety of the public monies in 
the Bank had been submitted for their consideration. Reso- 
lute to obtain the absolute control of the Treasury, the ad- 
ministration assumed higher ground, overlooking all consid- 
erations of contract, all legislative provision for the security 
of the revenue, and giving to the Secretary of the Treasury, 
possession of the funds, whenever, in his opinion, " the gen- 
eral interest and convenience of the people required it. 



WAR ON Tilli U\NK — vSEIZtTa': Ol VVULIC TREASURK. ii47 

Thus authorizing the Secretary, anJ, as \vc shall see, here- 
alter, the President, to dispense at pleasure with the laws, 
the g-rievous assumption of power in the Stuarts, and which 
brought the ill-starred Charles I. to the block. This resolu- 
tion was adopted, with a hardihood for which modern times 
have no parallel, at the moment when tiie determination of 
Congress against the measure was made known, 

405. From the time of Washington, the heads of the ex- 
ecutive departments have formed a cabinet council, whose 
members the President consults, either singly or together. 
By the Constitution, he may require their opinion in writing. 
So uniform has been tlie practice of advising with them, that, 
aUhouirh the President is under noobligation to consult them, 
an opinion prevails, that they form, and they are, frequently, 
called, his constitutional advisers; and the case was an ex- 
traordinary one, which was not resolved by the sense of the 
majority. Their situation renders them responsible to the 
country ; and their inlluence is, therefore, the safest which 
can be exercised over the Chief Magistrate. President Jack- 
son, however, upon evidence incontrovertible, has submitted 
himself to advisers of another and less responsible class; who, 
from their residence in the palace, have been denominated 
the Kitchen Cabinet. Devoted to the succession of Mr. Van 
Buren, they may be considered the guardians whom he has 
established around the Chief Magistrate, to protect his inter- 
ests and promote his views. In this secret council have the 
most important measures of the President originated. The 
members of the Cabinet proper, since the retirement of Mr. 
Van Buren, are, occasionally and formally, consulted; but 
they are content, it seems, with the honours and emoluments 
of office, whilst, in the estimation of tiie country, their most 
important duties are performed by irresponsible persons, who 
possess the confidence, if not the place, properly belonging to 
them. Whilst Mr. Van Buren was a member of the admin- 
istration, no formal meetings of the Cabinet Council were 
holden. The established practice of every preceding admin- 
istration was abolished, and the secret machinery of political 
intrigue was put into successful operation, worked by the skill 
of the master spirit behind the curtain. No board of consult- 
ation around the green cloth wias held, where each member 
was required to unfold his sentiments, freely and frankly, of 
men and measures connected with national policy. Every 
effort made to restore the ancient usage of Cabinet Councils, 
by the devoted friends of General Jackson, was repellr-'^ with 



248 WAR ON THE BANK — SEIZURE OF PUBLIC TREASURE. 

indignation, and the interposition ascribed to personal hostil- 
ity to the Secretary of State, whose selfish policy would have 
been therein detected, exposed and defeated. 

406. The Cabinet Council to whom the President communi- 
cated his purpose of removing the government deposits from 
the Bank of the United States, disapproved of it, and Mr. 
McLane, the Secretary of the Treasury, the indispensable 
agent in the business, refused to give the order, and remon- 
strated, it is said, earnestly and ably, against it. But the ad- 
vise of the secret Cabinet prevailed. Mr. McLane was trans- 
lated to the office of Secretary of State, vacated by the ap- 
pointment of Mr. Livingston to the French mission, and Mr, 
William J. Duane, supposed to be of more ductile metal, was 
nominated Secretary of the Treasury. 

The low estimate which had been formed of the independ- 
ence of this gentleman's character, proved erroneous. Though 
inexperienced in office, he lacked neither the firmness nor in- 
telligence which his place and the occasion required. Be- 
lieving that the President really thought the prostration of the 
Bank would be another victory of which he might be proud, 
and that he was stinmlaied to consider any means justifiable 
to attain that end, he resolved to interpose between him and 
those who were impelling him in his rash career. He, reso- 
lutely, refused to direct the deposits to be withdrawn from the 
Bank, upon the grounds, that, the measure was extreme and 
arbitrary, — unauthorized by law, — and inexpedient. 

407. To Mr. Duane, the President distinctly averred, that 
his hostility to the Bank was of a party r..vT-aracter. " Circum- 
stances," the new Secretary said, "came to his knowledge 
which induced him to believe, that the removal of the deposits 
was not advocated with any view to public utility, but urged to 
accomplish selfish, if not factious, purposes;" and that, an in- 
fluence existed, at Washington, unknown to the Constitution. 
" I knew," he observed, " that, four of the six members of the 
Cabinet, before I became a member of it, had been opposed 
to any present action, in relation to the deposits ; and I also 
knew that four of the six members of the existing Cabinet 
entertained the same views. I felt satisfied, not only, that, 
the President was not in the hands of his constitutional ad- 
visers, but that their advice was successfully resisted by per- 
sons whose views I considered at variance with the public 
interest, — and the President's fame." In breaking the inten- 
tions of the President, Mr. Reuben M. Whitney, the con- 
futed and disgraced witness before the Bank Committee of 



WAR ON THE BANK — SLIZURE OF PUBLIC TREASURE. 249 

1831, was th? President's agent, and Mr. Amos Kendall the 
expositor of liis views. 

Now this testimony, of the President's unfitness for his sta- 
tion, of the Chief Magistrate of the Union, being in the hands 
of a selfish cabal, comes from an unwilling witness; from one 
who had been an original Jackson man, who had been, and 
still is, a devoted party man, who is not only the enemy of 
the Bank of the United States, but of all incorporated Banks, 
and who has the great merit of sacrificing his personal predi- 
lection, his party feelings and his prejudices, to his sense of 
justice and the' public welfare. The testimony of such a 
witness upon such a subject, ought to be conclusive. 

Mr. Duane communicated his opinions to the President, 
with his regrets that he could not view the proposition to remove 
the deposits in the light which the President saw it ; and sug- 
gested recourse to an inquiry by Congress, or to the judiciary. 
The President commended the frankness of the Secretary, 
as one may, from politeness, an unpalatable wine; observed 
that tlie matter under consideration was of great importance; 
" that unless the Bank was broken down, it icould break vs 
(the adm'mislralion) down; that if the last Congress had re- 
mained a iceck longer in session, two-thirds icould have been 
secured for the Bank, by corrupt means; and that the like 
result might be apprehended at the next Congress; that 
euch a bank agency nmst be put in operation before the meet- 
ing of Congress, as would show, that, the Bank of the United 
States was not necessary, and that thus some members would 
have no excuse to vote for it. As to the Judiciary, resort to 
it would be idle, as their previous decisions sufficiently in- 
dicated future ones." 

Whilst on his northern tour, the President, by a letter from 
Boston, of June 25, 1833, expressed to the Secretary his 
opinion that he (the Secretary) would be wisely exercising 
the discretion conferred upon him by law, by directing the 
deposits to be made in the State Banks, from and after the 
15th September, if arrangements, to be made with them, 
should be then completed." He added, " It is not my inten- 
tion to interfere with the independent exercise of the discre- 
tion committed to you by law, over the subject." This as- 
surance, which recognized the right of the Secretary, as ex- 
clusive and independent of the President, relieved the anxiety 
of that officer, whose self-complacency had been not a little 
disturbed, and he complied with an invitation from the Presi- 
dent, to give him his sentiments frankly and fully. 



250 WAR ON'THE BANK — SEIZURE OF PUBLIC TREASURE. 

In this exposition the Secretary urg-ed — the contract which 
the law had made with the Bank; — the confidence which 
(Congress had but a few weeks before expressed in its solven- 
cy and its faith, — particularly by the act authorizing the loan 
to it of nearly one million of dollars, the first instalment un- 
der the French treaty, without security, — the want of au- 
thority in the Secretary to deposit the public monies else- 
where, and to contract for their disposition and preservation 
— his inability to assign to Congress satisfactory reasons for 
such conduct — the folly of making rash and unwarranted ex- 
periments on so important a matter — the great probability that 
such an experiment would be indignantly interrupted by Con- 
gress — and the great injury which must necessarily result to 
the commercial community, by the derangement of the cur- 
rency which would follow the deed. These considerations 
had been all submitted to the President, in vain, by the pre- 
ceding Secretary ; and the paper containing their recapitula- 
tion, by Mr. Duane, was presented to the President on the 
12th July. 

- He displayed, in several interviews, much dissatisfaction 
with his refractory subordinate; but, at length, asserted, that, 
he wanted inquiry only ; that, the Banks might not agree to 
the only playi he thought safe, that of mutual guarantee ; 
(a second New York Safety Fund) — that information ought 
to be obtained, even for Congress, and the Secretary ought to 
co-operate in collecting it; that he was desirous that Mr. 
Kendall should make inquiries; and that they might remain 
uncommitted, (Mr. Van Buren again) until after a consid- 
eration of the questions, that were connected with the de- 
positary. 

408. Mr. Duane was, thus, indiiced to prepare instructions 
for Mr. Kendall. During this labor several modifications were 
proposed and enforced by the President. The cover of " in- 
quiry only,'^ which had been assumed to amuse the Secreta- 
ry, was abandoned, and he was distinctly told, that, "the 
great object to be ascertained was, whether the State Banks 
would agree to become the agents of the Government on the 
terms proposed; that if they would, then they would be sub- 
stituted for the Bank of the United States, as the fiscal agent. 
With this undisguised declaration of purpose came a very in- 
telligible threat, to the Secretary, of dismissal. And as the 
robes of office, like the shirt of Nsbssus is not easily torn from 
him who once indues them, the Secretary " consented to 
give up the offensive paragraphs; and after reiterating his 



WAR ON THE BANK — SEIZURE OF PUBLIC TREASURE. 251 

opinions, promised, that wlien the moment for decision, afler 
inquiry and discussion, should arrive, he would concur with 
the President or retire." 

Tliis promise was considered by the President as removing 
every obstacle from his course. The instructions as furnish- 
ed by the Secretary were unhesitatingly altered in many es- 
sential particulars; the direction to collect information was 
stricken out, and the agent empowered to propose or accept 
new plans. Still, they were signed by the Secretary in tlie 
belief "that the President would be undeceived; and that 
the time of the meeting of Congress would be so closely ap- 
proximated, ere a suitable inquiry could be made, as to ren- 
der any action by the President altogether indelicate and 
improper.'''' He signed the instructions though he had at- 
tained a clear conception of the true nature of the service re- 
quired of him, which he assures us, " was not to substitute 
one fiscal agent for another, but to pervert a power reserved 
by law for the public protection, into a weapon to punish the 
legitimate fiscal agent, at such time, and in such manner, as 
to evade legislative and fiscal action." But he signed them, 
he says, to prevent the execution of a scheme, which he be- 
lieved would be detrimental to the country, and to the Presi- 
dent himself. 

409, The result of this farcical inquiry is thus stated by 
the Secretary: "The plan of Bank agency, deemed by the 
President the only safe one, had been almost, unanimously, 
rejected by the State Banks. The materials from which the 
condition of the State Banks, was to be ascertained, were 
very imperfectly furnished. No inquiry beyond that, which 
resulted in the agent's report and correspondence, was, to my 
knowledge made. Nor was there any discussion, in my pre- 
sence, or otherwise, to my knowledge, as to the agent's re- 
port, and correspondence, or any plan of State Bank agency. 
If any member of the administration understood what was to 
be the system of future fiscal operations, I was not that per- 
son, although, I attentively, read all that was submitted. Yet 
it was into this chaos, I was required, precipitately, to plunge 
the fiscal operations of the country at a moment when they 
were conducted by the legitimate agent, with the utmost sim- 
plicity, safety and despatch." 

When it was known, early in September, that the Secre- 
tary persisted in his refusal to remove the deposits, some 
members of the Cabinet sought a middle course; asking him 
to say, whether he would fix a day on which to remove them, 



262 WAR ON THE BANK — SEIZURE OF PUBLIC TREASURE, 

after the meeting of Congress, should that body not act upon 
the subject! This query supposed, the resolution of the Ex- 
ecutive to control the public funds, not only, without the au- 
thority of Congress, but, even against the repeated expression 
cf its will ; and supposes, too, a claim to power, quite as broad 
as the President afterwards set up in his protest to the Senate. 
The Secretary refused to fix a day; but consented to remove 
the deposits, in case Congress desired it; and again stated 
his readiness to retire, as soon, as the President expressed his 
preference for that course. 

410. The famous Cabinet Council of the 18th Sept., 1833, 
was convoked, before which the President laid an exposition 
of his views, as submitted for the consideration of the SecrC' 
tary. From these views, four members dissented. Of the 
doctrines of this document, we shall not now speak, at large, 
since they were prepared and adopted by the successor of Air, 
Duane, and reported to Congress as his reasons for removing 
the deposits. This memorable paper closes witli the follow- 
ing paragraph. 

" The President again repeats, that he legs his Cabinet 
to consider the proposed measure as his own, in the support 
ofiohich he shall require no one of them to make a sacrifice 
of opinion or principle. Its responsibility has been assumed, 
after the most mature deliberation and reflection, as neces- 
sary to preserve the morals of the people, the freedom of the 
press, and the purity of the elective franchise, without which, 
. all will unite in saying, that the blood and treasure expended bv 
onr forefathers, in the establishment of our happy system of 
Government, will have been vain and fruitless. Under these 
convictions, he feels, that, a measure so important to the 
American people, cannot be commenced too soon; and he 
therefore names the first day of October next, as a period 
proper for the change of the deposits, or sooner, provided the 
necessary arrangements with the State Banks can be made." 

We have seen that the President admitted that an inde- 
pendent discretion over the subject was committed to the Sec- 
retary by the law. But we now behold him assuming the 
responsibility and controlling that discretion by the pain of 
dismissal from office ; and asserting, on principles v,^hich we 
shall consider hereafter, a right to direct every officer in the 
Government, in the performance of his duties, by which al! 
become his creatures and tools, and are rendered responsible 
to him, and not to the law. 

411. The decision of the Secretary was hastily and indeco- 



WAR ON Tlli: BANK — Sr.lZLRE OF PtULlC TREASURE. 253 

rously pressed; the lime required for the preparation of a de- 
feriiive paper was refused him, and tlie detcrniination to re- 
move tiie deposits was authoritatively published on tiio 20th 
September; thus offering to him a gross indignity, as an ofti- 
cer and a man. On the 21st, he announced to the President 
his resolution not to carry his directions into etfect, nor, vol- 
untarily, to withdraw from the post, which the law had placed 
in his charg-e; conceiving that the latter was warranted by 
the atiront he had received, and his duty to the public, wiiicli 
required him, until expelled, to place himself between the 
President and his pin-poso. On the 23d, he was formally and 
rudely dismissed. Mr. Taney, who had sustained the views 
of the President, was named his successor. 

Thus was perpetrated, in the most vindictive spirit, the 
most naked and reckless act of power which our annals have 
recorded. The sense of Congress scorned — its members de- 
famed — the solemn contract with the Bank annulled — the 
public treasure torn from the legal depositary — the national 
currency unsettled — and bankruptcy and ruin widely spread 
over the land. 

412. The elTects of this measure upon the public prosperity, 
which had been predicted by all who thought regardfuiiy 
upon the subject, were soon apparent. The shock upon 
public credit, like the earthquake, was wide and instanta- 
neous. At the moment it was given, the general business of 
the country was in a state of high tension. The capitalist 
and the operator had boundless confidence in each other; the 
Banks had extended their loans to the utmost bounds of 
safety; the merchant and the manufacturer were employing 
their proper and their borrowed funds in enterprizes commen- 
surate in extent with their pecuniary facilities and requiring 
the continued and uninterrupted use of the capital invested. 
In this condition any cause producing the sudden withdrawal 
of the accustomed accommodation, necessarily produced great 
embarrassment and distress. 

The removal of the deposits created apprehensions of dan- 
ger, immediately, to the Bank of the United States itself, arad, 
remotely, to all the monied institutions and concerns of the 
country. Retrenchment at all, and rigorous enforcement of 
its claims at some, points, were presumed indispensable to 
the safety of the Bank. The extent, being conjectural, was 
exaggerated. There was communicated every where that 
uncertainty of the future, which impels every man to seek 
provision for the coming month, as well as for the passing 

22 



2o4 WAR ON THE BANK — SEIZLRE OF PUBLIC TREASURE, 

day. The capitalists, more fearful, perhaps, than men of less 
wealth, withdrew their funds from circulaiion. Men saw 
that the relations between the Government and the Bank 
were, thenceforth, to continue hostile; that, between it and 
the substituted Banks, they were to be those of mistrust ; and 
that, without a National Bank, the stability and safety of the 
whole monetary system of the country would be endangered. 

As a political measure, the attack was alarming, being 
made in defiance of a solemn vote of the late Congress, at 
their last session; and, as if with the intention to forestall the 
opinion of that which must meet witiiin sixty days after the 
interference was made; and as if to encroach upon its legiti- 
mate rights. It was appalling to men of business, who rely 
Ibr the success of their operations on that stability of those of 
the Government, which can only be guaranteed by law, un- 
expectedly to discover, that the commerce, the currency, and 
the monied institutions of the country, its credit, and their 
own credit and fortunes, were, thenceforth, to depend on the 
private opinions, the presumed wisdom, and the arbitrary will 
of one man. Minor causes increased the apprehensions, and 
restricted more and more the use of private capital and pri- ' 
vate credit; and the alarm became a panic, not dependent 
upon, or to be explained as a matter of ordinary reason. The 
Banks, indeed, (with soms fev; exceptions) protected by the 
impossibility of exporting specie without loss, preserved their 
credit, and were enabled, generally, to continue, in some 
measure, their usual accommodations. Private credit was 
most deeply affected; and the leading feature of the distress 
was the consequent interruption, and, in many cases, cessa- 
tion, of business. 

The importers diminished, greatly, their orders and their 
purchases of foreign exchange, which, for the first time, for 
many years, was at a discount. The intermediate wholesale 
merchants, fearful to contract new engagements, were anxious, 
only, about the remittances necessary to discharge those already 
contracted. Those engaged in the exportation of the produce of 
the country, doubtful whether they could sell foreign bills, on 
which that exportation depends, gave but limited orders. The 
country merchants and the manufacturers were no longer per- 
mitted to draw, in advance, on the cities, for the products of 
the soil or of their industry. New enterprizes and engage- 
ments of every description were avoided ; and in many in- 
stance?, workmen were discharged, or a reduction of wages 
required. The actual evils were aggravated by general ap- 



WAR ON THE BANK — SEIZURE OF PUBLIC TREASURE. 255 

prohension; but the alarm could scarce be greater than the 
true state of things justified. 

413. In his message to Congress, December, 1833, the 
President, thus communicated his proceedings in relation to 
the Bank. " ii^ince the last adjournment of Congress, the 
Secretary of the Treasury has directed the money of the 
United States to be deposited in certain State Banks, desig- 
nated by him, and he will immediately lay before you his 
reasons for this direction. I concur with him, entirely, in the 
view he has taken of the subject, and some months before 
the removal I urged upon the department the propriety of 
taking this step." Professing great respect lor the other 
branches of the Government and more particularly the House 
of Representatives, he apologizes for this measure so direct- 
ly against the sense of the last House, by saying, "the change 
in tlie deposits which has been ordered, has been deemed to 
be called for by considerations which are not affected by the 
proceedings referred to, and which if correctly viewed by tliat 
Department (the 'JVeasury) rendered its act a matter of im- 
perious duty." This is bitter mockery. The whole subject 
was before Congress, when by an overwhelming majority, it 
expressed its confidence in the Bank; and no new circum- 
stance is pretended to have arisen when "some months before 
the removal he urged upon the department the propriety of 
taking that step." But it is in his irresponsible construction 
of the popular will, to which we have often alluded, that he 
found countenance for this audacity, "Coming as you do," 
he says to the Congress, "for the inost part, immediately from 
the people and the States, by election, and possessing the 
fullest opportunity to know their sentiments, the jtrcscnt 
Congress will be sincerely solicitous to carry into full and 
fair effect, the will of their constituents, in regard to this in- 
stitution. It will be for those, in whose behalf we all act, 
to decide whether the Executive of the Government, in the 
steps which it has taken on this subject, lias been found in the 
line of its duty." 

And whence came the last Congress, but from the people 
and the States by election 1 And how should the present be 
more imbued with the sense of its constituents than the past? 
But the President hoped, nor hoped, in vain, that the present 
had been more certainly produced by executive patronage, 
and would be more subservient to his behests. Already he 
takes care to protest against the jurisdiction, even, of the 
present Congress over the subject; and instead of justify- 



256 WAR ON THE BANK SEIZURE OF PLBLIC TREASURE. 

ing, to it, the course of the Executive, as by the law, he v-'as 
through his Secretary of the Treasury required to do, he, 
notwithstanding the Secretary is about to rejider his and the 
President's reasons, appeals to the people to determine wheth- 
er the Executive has been found in the line of its duty. 

414. The report of the Secretary may be viewed under, 
two heads; first, the principles on which he tbunds his au- 
thority: and second, the facts by which he endeavours to jus- 
tiiy its exercise. 

415. The principles are; 1. That the charter of the Bank 
is a contract, between it and the United States, by which 
the Bank has agreed, that the power reserved to the Secre- 
tary over the deposits, shall not be restricted to particular 
contingencies, but be absolute and unconditional, as far as 
their interests are involved in the removal; and that, there- 
fore, by his act, the Bank was divested of all right thereto, 
and the nation discharged from the contract: 2. That, whilst 
the power of the Secretary over the subject was absolute, 
that of Congress was divested — Congress having alienated it to 
him: 3. That, the exercise of his power is not, even in point 
of responsibility to Congress, dependent upon the safety of 
the deposits, or on the fidelity of the Bank to the Government; 
but, that it is his right and duty to remove them, if, in his 
opinion, the removal tend, in any degree, to the interest and 
convenience of the public: And 4. That, as the propriety of 
removing the deposits was evident, it was, consequently, his 
duty to select the places of future deposit. 

416. I. We have had occasion to remark, already, upon the 
nature of the contract between the Bank and theGovernnient, 
but we will add here some further views upon the subject. 
If the power of the Secretary be absolute and unconditional 
in respect to the rights of the Bank, it must be absolute and 
unconditional in all other respects; because if there be any 
limitation imposed, such limitation is as much for tl»e benefit 
of the Bank as for the security of the country. The Bank 
had purchased as a benefit, the custoily of the public monies; 
agreemg that the Secretary should have the power of re- 
moval; conditioned, however, that, the reasons for its exer- 
cise should be submitted to Congress, as the final judge of 
the risfhts of the Bank and the weal of the nation. If the 
power of the Secretary, therefore, be absolute and uncondi- 
tional, it restrains Congress from ascertaining whether the 
States be injured by the removal, or the rights of the Bank 
be violated. If the Bank be interested in retaining the de- 



WAR ON THE BANK — SEIZURE OF PUBLIC TREASURE. 257 

posits, it must be interested in the trutli and tiie sufficiency 
of the reasons assigned lor their ronioval; especially, as such 
reasons are to be rendered to a tribunal, to which the Secre- 
tary is amenable and wliich may reverse his decision. It has, 
clearly, an interest in detaining the deposits, and therefore, 
certainly concerned in the reasons which the Secretary may 
give for their removal. And the fact, that, he is bound to give 
reasons, conclusively, shows, that his authority is not abso- 
lute and unconditional; — for there is no appeal from the deci- 
sion of absolute power; if it bo absolute, its reason, is its will. 
But the Secretary is obliged to assign his reasons — and satis- 
factory reasons too, to Congress. If such reasons be not good, 
he abuses the discretion reposed in him, violates the contract 
with the Bank and subjects iiimself to impeachment. The 
very effort of the Secretary to secure himself behind this en- 
trenchment, shows clearly, that he has not confidence in the 
soundness of the reasons he would adduce. 

The Secretary seeks protection also under the cover of 
precedent, furnished by the acts and assumptions of AJr. 
Crawf()rd in 1817; in which, certainly, a power, as extensive 
as unwarranted, was claimed by that gentleman, over the 
public funds; namely, to use them in support of the State 
Banks. We might observe, if the precedent were admissi- 
ble, that, Mr. Crawford's case is distinguished from the pre- 
sent, by the essential feature, that his transfers were made 
with the consent of the Bank; but the best reply is, that given 
by the Committee of Congress to whom the subject was re- 
ferred; "f/iis was no legal cmploymenl of the public funds ; 
was nothing but a gratuitous loan.'" 

417. II. But the Secretary avers, that his power is abs<> 
lute and unconditional, because Congress iiave given to him 
their whole power, reserving none to themselves, to touch 
the deposits until he shall have restored their power to them; 
and he adds, that the power reserved to him under the char- 
ter is the same which he previously possessed. This is a 
begging of the whole question. The Secretary assumes, 
that he is an independent judge of the whole matter; where- 
as, he is but the agent of Congress. His power is but part 
of their power, entrusted to him, as their representative. 
Though he may use it for sufficient reasons. Congress may 
use it, also, for like reasons. The restraint upon his power, 
is imposed by the right of the Bank, which is the only re- 
straint on the power of Congress. If the Bank have no right, 
upon what ground can the right of Congress be denied ? If 

ob* 



258 WAR ON THE BANK — SEIZURE OF PUBLIC TREASURE. 

the power reserved to the Secretary, under the charter, be the 
old power, how can the right of Conorress, to control the de- 
posits be denied, under the charter, if Congress had any right 
to control them before the charter .' The argument of the 
Secretary goes to the whole extent of asserting, that, Con- 
gress have abandoned, to the Secretary and the Bank, the 
public treasure, beyond the possibility of recall. 

in. The Secretary also assumes, that, his power over the 
deposits does not depend upon their safety nor upon the fidel- 
ity of the Bank, but may be exercised, if their removal tend 
in any degree to the interest and convenience of the public. 
But the only adequate cause for removal must be one affect- 
ing the safety of the public monies in the Bank or their dis- 
tribution for the public service. Such a cause alone directly 
concerns the subject upon which the power is to be exercised. 
It is the only one of which the functions of his office and his 
relations to the Bank authorize and enable the Secretary to 
judge, and which requires immediate action, without reference 
to Congress, It is the only one which would justly deprive 
ihe Bank of the use of the public monies after having paid for 
it. It is the only one which Congress could safely submit to 
the discretion of the Secretary of the Treasury, without aban- 
doning to that officer the whole scheme of the public policy 
in regard to a National Bank. 

" 1. A cause that does not directly concern the subject upon 
which the power is to be exercised, must regard the public 
monies as an instrument, and not as an object of the power. 
To comprehend such a cause, the charter must be construed 
ro give the Secretary an unlimited choice of the objects lobe 
attained by the custody of public monies; for as none are 
pointed out by the charter, but those of mere custody and 
transfer, the instant that these cease to be the only objects of 
the power, we are without any limitation. Whether the pur- 
pose of the Secretary be local or general, whether it be to 
make money dear or cheap, to regulate or disturb exchanges, 
ro promote or retard public works, to increase or diminish 
the amount of Bank discounts, to excite or counteract politi- 
cal movements, each and all of these objects must be within 
the discretion of the Secretary, if any of them are. 

"2. That the Secretary should be entrusted with a power 
necessary to protect the Treasury itself, or to meet the de- 
mands upon it, is reasonable. If the public monies are ex- 
posed to danger, he must first perceive its approach, and would 
be best able to measure its extent. He, also, from his official 



WAR OS THE BANK — SEIZURE OF PUBLIC TREASURE. 259 

position, must know the direction which public engagements 
require to be given to the means of satisfying them. 'J'he 
power, which either danger or the publiccredit makes neces- 
sary, is one that does not admit of delay, whether Congresa 
be in session or not. The action required, to be cflectual, 
must be in some cases instantaneous. The grant or reserva- 
tion of such a power to the Secretary of the Treasury, wa.s 
necessary and proper. But if the public monies were to bo 
made an instrument for etlecting an ulterior object, no reason 
can be imagined why the power of using them should be 
given to the Secretary rather than to the President, or why 
it should be given to either, instead of being left to the action 
of Congress. That, nothing but the safety and distribution of 
the national treasure were the lawful objects of the Secreta- 
ry's power, is conclusively shown by the circumstance that 
the ' Act to establish the Treasury Department,' the very mo- 
ment that the Secretary gave the order not to make the 
deposits in the Bank of the United States, placed them in the 
hands of the Treasurer, who could lawfully make no disposi- 
^tion of them, but to keep them securely, to be disbursed ac- 
cording to law. A removal of the deposits for any purpose, 
except to place them in this custody, would be not only a vio- 
lation of the rights of the Bank, but of the functions of the 
Treasurer, as created by law." 

418. IV. The claim of the Secretary, of right, to select the 
depositaries of the public treasure, when withheld from the 
Bank of the United States, falls with his pretension to with- 
hold it. But no portion of this great case requires more con- 
sideration, than the employment of substitutes for the Bank of 
the United States. It may be regarded as to the right and 
the result 

419. Of the practice on which the claim of right is based, 
we have already spoken. In proof that it is unwarrantably 
claimed, v/e adduce some additional remarks. 

"The proper duty of the Secretary is to superintend the col- 
lection of the revenue. That of the Treasurer is " to receive 
and keep the monies of the United States, and to disburse 
them on warrants drawn by the Secretary of the Treasury, 
countersigned by the proper officers, and recorded according 
to law. He is required to give bond, in the sum of one hun- 
dred and fifty thousand dollars, conditioned for the faithful 
performance of the duties of his office, mid for the fidelity of 
the persons to be by him employed. It is the Treasurer, 
therefore, who is to choose the place of deposit; and he is th« 



260 WAR ON THE BANK — SEIZURE OF PrBLIC TREASURE. 

best officer, in theory, as well as the only officer, by the law, 
to perform the act ; because the doctrines of general conve- 
nience and interest are not so like to reach him. His object 
will be security, and his bond is the motive for obtaining it. 
If there be a treasury practice, which has displaced the 
Treasurer, the practice should be made to conform to the 
law, or the law to the practice. As the case now stands, the 
money of the United States is not deposited, where it is, by 
direction, and under the sanction, of the law. It is placed in 
the deposit Banks by an officer who has not the authority so 
to place it ; and in case of controversy, it may possibly be 
found, not only that the bond of the Treasurer is of no avail, 
but that, remedies for the loss or detention of the deposits, are 
not to be obtained in the name of the United States, or in the 
courts of the United States; but in private names, and in 
State courts, with all the contingencies incident to litigation in 
this form. Whatever may be the practice, it is not becoming, 
that the Treasury of the United States sJionld be in any pre- 
dicament, but that, precisely, in which the law has given its 
direction to place it." 

420. But where did the Secretary get authority to contract 
with the State Banks'? It would seem as if every step of this 
officer was over some broken pillar of the law. He was 
authorized by no law to make such contracts; nay, he was 
expressly forbidden by the Act of 1st May, 1820, for the regu- 
lation of the departments, which provides. Section 6, that no 
contract shall thereafter be made by the Secretary of State, 
or of the Treasury, or of the Department of War, or of the 
Navy, except under a law authorizing the same, or under an 
appropriation adequate to its fulfilment ; and excepting, also, 
contracts for the subsistence and clothing of the army or navy, 
and contracts by the Quarter Master's Department, which 
may be made by the Secretaries of those Departments. 

421. We are now to consider the result of the substitution 
of the Executive of other depositaries of the public funds for 
those provided b}'^ law; which leads us, immediately, to the 
inquiry into the actual condition of the State Banks. 

422. It appears, from the best information attainable, that 
there are in the States, districts and territories, in round 
numbers, four hundred and fifty Banks; with an aggregate 
capital of one hundred and forty-six millions of dollars; cir- 
culation of nearly one hundred millions; deposits fifty mil- 
lions; i/jfcie about ten millions. The total amount of dis- 
counted paper is about two hundred and thirty-three millions. 



WAR ON THE BANK — SEIZVUE OF PUBLIC TREASLUE. 201 

Thus it is apparent, that, the circulation of tlie State Banks 
ia about ten tinies fTreater than their specie, and that, conse- 
quently, they would be unable to willistand any run which 
niiirht drain them, and would be compelled to contract their 
i>?sues, diminish greatly the circulation, and throw the busi- 
ness operations of the whole country info utter confusion, de- 
preciating the value of property, in proportion to the reduc- 
tion of the currency. This weakness of the State IJanks is 
apparent from their own exhibitions; but their statements, 
the most favourable their circumstances will admit, are not 
entitled to implicit confidence, as may be gathered from the 
late failures of some, and the notorious shifts of others, to 
make up accounts for settling or reporting days. 

Tliis weakness has a constant tendency to increase, from 
the disposition of the State Banks to over issues. This incli- 
nation is rep'ressible, only by a power perpetually and uni- 
formly active, which, like gravity in the solar system, shall 
keep each planet in its orbit. This powder is Ibund in the 
Bank of th.e United States, which is not only sound in itself, 
having less than two dollars of outstanding notes for one dol- 
lar of specie at command, but is the cause that utter rotten- 
ness does not pervade a large majority of the State Banks. 
This important flict was admitted by Mr. Taney himself, in 
a letter to the Committee of Ways and Means of the House 
of Representatives. But v.'ith a logic as perverse as the case 
in which it is employed, he argues, that if the Bank of the 
United States produces soundness in the State Banks, the ob- 
ject of its creation has been attained; and that, therefore, it 
may be dismissed as useless; — and that if it have not render- 
ed tiie circulating medium safe, it has failed in its purpose. 
With equal propriety, it may be said, that the power of gravity 
having, tor thousands of years, preserved the order of the 
universe, may be annihilated, and the order be preserved. 
The presence of both, in their respective places, is indispensa- 
ble. Whilst the Bank of the United States is preserved, all 
other Banks, claiming to be solvent, must keep their paper 
at par with specie. When that Bank shall be extinguished, 
the mutual indulgence of the monied institutions will remove 
this restraint, and a drain of specie from the country will re- 
sult in the suspension of specie payments. 

The Secretary admits the necessity of preserving the Bank, 
if the present currency be in a sound state ; but he denies the 
soundness of the currency. On this subject he may be safely 
left at issue, with all tlie political economists of the country, 



262 WAR ON THE BANK — SEIZURE OF PUBLIC TREASURE. 

theCoinmittees of both Houses of Congress, and, what is quite 
as nriuch to the purpose, with every individual of the commu- 
nity, who, having- the note of any Bank in credit, can obtain 
specie therefor, in all the markets of the Union, at a rate less 
than the transportation of specie would cost. 

423. But if the currency were not perfect, if the abun- 
dance of paper of small denominations limited the use of sil- 
ver; if mistaken legislation had expelled gold from circula- 
tion; these were evils which the good sense of the country, 
before the attack upon the Bank, had engaged to remedy. 
Already, without the promptings of the General Government, 
had the States commenced the suppression of small notes; 
and so fast as the sense of the true interests of the people pre- 
vails over the interests of the Banks, this suppression will 
be extended. Beyond this, no effort of the General Govern- 
ment, as proposed by the Secretary, can avail. For though 
it may possibly force the State Banks, in its service, say, one 
hundred, to disuse notes, under a designated amount, it wnll 
have no influence over the remaining three hundred and fifty 
Banks, whose pernicious issues, unchecked by the regulating 
power, would be enlarged with the decrease of competition. 
Already had the commercial community called for the inter- 
ference of the Legislature; and had the President and his 
Secretary of the Treasury been with the pre-adamites, the 
measures which have been lately adopted, for retaining gold 
in the country, would have been pursued. 

But suppose the mean offered to improve the currency be 
made efficient, by the co-operation of the States ; a measure 
extremely problematical; would it not be more efficient if ap- 
plied through the United States Bank? As that institution 
acts simultaneously and uniformly in all parts of the Union, 
can we doubt, the effect would be more prompt and univer- 
sal. Bat suppose the Government can restrain the issue of 
the Banks in its employ; what shall compensate for the unre- 
strained issues of all other Banks which must ensure the dis- 
solution of the United States Bank? 

Does not the onward course of things tend, directly, to the 
state of 18161 Of late, new Banks have been established, 
in the several States, with aggregate capitals amounting to 
43 millions of dollars, and multitudes of applications are daily 
presented to the State Legislatures for new charters. Each 
of these Banks will strive to extend its circulation, and will 
endeavour to avoid specie payments. Tlie more rotten and 



WAR ON THE BANK — SEIZURE OF PI BLR" TREASURE. 2G3 

worthless they may be, the more strenuous will be their eflbrts 
lor this purpose. 

424. But whence, does the Executive derive the right, so 
boldly assumed, ot" providing- the country with a currency 
whether paper or metalic? The assumption was in every 
pomt of view illegal — so palpably illegal, that the partisan.s 
of the administration did not venture to support it before 
Congress. 

It is an imputation upon the Congress of 1816, to suppose, 
ihat, they intended to authorize the Secretary of the Treasu- 
ry to use any means for changing the currency. Yet he 
avows this intention ; to change it too, in opposition to the 
provision made by Congress in regard to it. He proposed to 
effect this by compelling the Bank of the United States to 
cease lending, and by enabling the deposit Banks to lend; by 
circumscribing the circulation of the notes of the one, and 
enlarging the circulation of the notes of the other; by com- 
pelling them all to give him, indirectly, the management of 
the Banks, without the warrant of law, and to surrender it 
themselves, contrary to the laws, by which they are, exclu- 
sively, entitled to it. No Congress could, and, therefore, no 
Congress, should be presumed to, have given the Secretary 
such powers. It would have been a delegation of the high- 
est powers of legislation under the form of ministerial agen- 
cy. No power requires more circumspection in its use than 
that for regulating the currency. The currency is the mea- 
sure of value of every man's property, of his contracts, of the 
indemnity lor the breach of them, and of the revenue of the 
country; and without a due adjustment of it, it is impossible 
to distribute in equal proportion among the citizens, either 
the burdens or advantages of civil society. A deranged cur- 
rency deranges every institution of the country that has re- 
lation to property. It gives a premium to fraud, and strips 
honest labour of its scanty earnings, by paying to it half of 
its just recompense, in the false and counterfeit name of the 
whole. Yet this power the Secretary claimed by delegation 
from the representatives of the people, and exercised it with 
consequences which spread in a wave of destruction over the 
whole countr}'. 

425. But suppose a league of the Treasury Banks should 
succeed in establishing their credit, so as to give general cur- 
rency to the paper, which past experience and sound reason, 
utterly, forbid us to expect, will not they, by loans and ex- 
changes, gain the .same power over the business of the coun- 



284 WAR ON THE BANK — SEIZURE OF PUBLIC TREASURE. 

try which is charged as dangerous in tlie Bank of the United 
States ! Should this power be attained and be abused, Con- 
gress can apply no remedy, for, it has no power over them nor 
their charters. Should the scheme succeed, it will be desir- 
able to perpetuate it. But as the dependence of the charters 
of most of the Banks is upon the States in which they, re- 
spectively are, it will be necessary to propitiate the State 
Legislatures, and to this end, au undue influence of the Gen- 
eral Government must be employed. We have heard much 
of consolidation; much of the danger of merging the inde- 
pendence of tiie States in the Federal Government. It is 
scarce possible to devise a plan, more adapted to this purpose, 
than that proposed by the Secretary. Give the Executive 
power to confer favours or 'numerous banking institutions, all 
closely connected with the State Governments, and there will 
be so many centripetal forces, drawing, by the resistless in- 
fluence of pecuniary interest, the independence of the States 
into the vortex of Federal control. 

There is yet another result of this operation, w^hich we 
have touched, but which deserves further notice. It is the 
dependence and subservience of the State Bank?, selected by 
the Secretary, upon the Government, — upon the party. To 
effect this we have just reason to believe is the true motive 
of the war on the Bank. The contracts of the Secretary 
with them, put them wholly at his mercy; making them the 
vassals of the administration; enabling it, through them, to 
operate upon the stockholders and their debtors. That such 
use will be made of them cannot be doubted, after the use 
made by the Treasury, of drafts upon the Bank of the United 
States to support the Treasury Banks. 

An attempt was made to consider these drafts, for two mil- 
lions three hundred thousand dollars, as mere transfers, as di- 
rections, from the Treasury Department to the Bank, to send 
a particular sum of public money from one place to a^nother, 
for the public, not private use, as drafts designed to change 
the position^ not the custody of the public money. But the 
Secretary himself, in his report to the Senate of the 30th No- 
vember, put the true impress upon the transaction; declaring 
that, "he had transferred money, in some instances, from the 
Bank of the United States, to the selected Banks, in order to 
enable them to defend the community against the unwarant- 
able attempts (attempts never made, every Bank heariyig tcs' 
timony to the unexpected forbearance) of the Bank of the 



AVAR ON THE DANK — SEIZLKE OF PUBLIC: TREASURE. 2G5 

United Slates, to produce a state of ^^eneral embarrassment 
and distress." 

Defender of the community! Protector of the people! 
When, and, how, were, attributes like these, given to the Sec- 
retary of the Treasury ! By what law ? If the administra- 
tion can, under pretence of protecting the people, assume, 
unrebuked, unpunished, to loan, to individuals or corporate in- 
ytitutions, millions of their money, it will not be long before 
we shall have given, the protection of the jnople, as voucher 
for the illegal expenditure of millions. Well may it be said 
'* that the inevitable tendency of power is its own enlarge- 
ment." These drafts, informally and illegally framed and 
sanctioned, for money lawfully deposited in the treasury, 
were given, secrectly given, to cashiers, to be used at their 
discretion, upon contingencies affecting their institutions, of 
which they, alone, were judges, and which had no relation to 
the public service. W^hat security existed against their 
abuse? What pledge against their illegal conversion to the 
use of the cashiers tliemselves? Had such conversion been 
made, no claim would have existed against the Banks under 
their respective contracts, or against the sureties on the cash- 
ier's bonds. The Banks would not have been liable for money 
which they had not recei'od, and the condition of the cash- 
iers' bonds embrace no such trust. Can it be for an instant 
doubted, that soulless institutions, whose constituency relieves 
them in a great measure from moral obligation, whose spring 
of action is pecuniary interest, receiving favours like these, 
the gratuitous loan of millions to defend their credit, will not 
be tlie ready, the remorseless, instruments of the power that 
fosters them? Can it be, that such institutions will not com- 
bine to make themselves, their stockholders, and their debtors, 
the partisans, the creatures of the administration, adding hun- 
dreds of thousands to the army of mercenaries which the 
newly established tenure of office has supplied to the Exec- 
utive"^? It matters not, to our view of the case, that a por- 
tion, only, of these drafts were used, and the renminder re- 
turned to the treasury. 

426. But, from elements such as these, we were to have, 
not only a sounder currency than that furnished by the Bank 
of the United States, but a hard money currency ! W^hen 
the peal of indignation swelled from every portion of the 
country against the injustice committed on the United States 
Bank, antf the reasons concocted by the President and his 
Secretary were scouted as impudent and illusory, the ground 
23 



260 WAR ON THE BANK — SEIZURE OF PUBLIC TREASURE. 

of defence was changed; and though prior to the firet of Oc- 
tober, no intuTiation was given of an intention to endeavour 
the introduction of a metallic currency, we were then told, 
that the Government was making an experiment Vv'hether it 
could not substitute for one of the best currencies in the world, 
a currency of coin, as in France. And in this experiment, 
the ease, the happiness, the bread of millions were jeoparded. 

This object, however, is no sooner declared, than with the 
inconsistency inseparable from error and wrong, its impracti- 
cability is demonstrated by the Secretary, himself " No com- 
mercial or manufacturing comm.unity," he observes, "could 
conduct its business to any advantage without a liberal system 
of credit, and a facility of obtaining money on loan, when 
the exigencies of their business require it. This cannot be 
obtained loiihout the aid of a paper circidation founded on 
credit. It is, therefore, not the interest of the country to put 
down the paper currency altogether!!" 

Wo have seen, that for all the purposes of commercial ex- 
changes, that. Bank notes and Bank credits furnisli a more 
convenient and more desirable medium than specie. Whilst 
this medium is kept within a proper limit it nmst always ex- 
clude, as the cheaper, a metallic currency, which cannot bo 
maintained but at great cost. And if there be an over issue 
of paper, the specie medium will inevitably be expelled the 
country, or buried in coffers or hidden vaults. So that, in 
either case, the establishment of a specie currency is hope- 
less. 



CHAPTER XVIIL 

WAR ON THE BANK CONTINUED ALLEGED OFFENCES 

OF THE BANK, 

427. The facts urged by the Secretary, which lie, em- 
phatically, styled his reasons, were : 1. That, the charter of 
the Bank would expire, by the existing- law, in 183G: 2. 
That, the Bank had unwarrantably reduced its discounts and 
had thereby caused a great depression of commerce: 8. That, 
the Bank had been mismanaged: 4. That, though a fiscal 
anient of the Government it had sacrificed the interest of its 
principal to its own: 5. That it had sought to attain political 
power and, thereby, to assure the renewal of its charter. 

423. I. The Secretary could not, with propriety, assume, 
that, the Bank would not be rechartered. A large majority 
of Congress, but one year preceding this declaration, had 
passed a bill renewing the charter; and a much larger ma- 
jority had, but a few months before, expressed their fullest 
confidence in the Bank. And there had been, since, no op- 
portunity to obtain the sense of the representatives of the 
people upon the subject. It could not be rechartered, he said, 
because it had enjoyed an exclusive privilege, at the expense 
of the community, for twenty years; because th(; charter 
was unconstitutional; and because public opinion had decided 
against it. 

The privileges of the charter were not more exclusive 
than are those .of every corporation, every social circle, 
church or eleemosynary institution. All who are qualified 
may participate in the advantages of these institutions. Upon 
granting the charter, the stock was accessible to all, and long 
solicited purchasers in vain. The first operations of the Bank 
were productive of heavy losses, and when it shall have clos- 
ed its business, it will not have divided, six per cent, annual- 
ly, upon its capital. Its stock has been, continually, changing 
hands, at advanced prices, and the present stockholders, if re- 
chartered, would not gain so much as would the stockhold- 
ers of a new Bank, who shall subscribe at par; their only 
claim for preference is, that they can, with experience and 
established relations, efficiently, promote their own and the 

2S7 



268 WAR ON THE BANK ITS ALLEGED OFFENCES. 

public weal. The question, however, was one with which 
the Secretary had nothing to do; it was purely of legislative 
jurisdiction. 

On the constitutionality of the charter, we have already 
said all that is necessary. But this, too, was not a question 
for an executive officer; it was, also, purely, legislative. 

429. But public opinion, said the Secretary, had pronounced 
against the Bank. We have here put before us, in the strong- 
est light, the danger of the power claimed by the President, 
as derived directly and unconstitutionally from the people ; 
which, impalpable and irresponsible as it is, is made the effi- 
cient cause for seizing upon the public treasure, abstracting 
it from the lawful depositary, and placing its custody wholly 
at the discretion of the Executive. A power over the Bank, 
with every mode of use, is distinctly derived by the President 
from this source. In his cabinet message, of the 18th Sep- 
tember, he says, speaking of his unalterable opposition to the 
Bank: 

"On that ground, the case was argued to the people. And 
now that the people have sustained the President, notwith- 
standing the influence and power V/liich was brought to bear^ 
upon him, it is too late, he confidently thinks, to say, that the" 
question has not been decided. Whatever may be the opinion 
of others, the President considers his re-election as a decision 
of the people against the Bank." 

Admitting for an instant, that a public officer has a right to 
recur to such a source for power, we deny the facts from 
which it is drawn. The sense of the people in relation to the 
Bank, was not involved in the presidential election. 

We have, elsewhere, shown, that the President, prior to 
his cabinet communication, had, at no time, met the whole 
ground of constitutionality and expediency — that the veto was 
not equivocal, inasmuch as it declared, that the Bank of the 
United States was convenient for the Government, and useful 
for the people ; that the President was impressed with the 
belief, not that a Bank of the United States was unconstitu- 
tional and inexpedient, but that some of the powers and priv- 
ileges of the EXISTING Bank are unauthorized by the Consti- 
tution, subversive of the rights of the States, and dangerous 
to the liberties of the people, " and that, had the Executive 
been called upon to furnish the project of such an institu- 
tion, the diLty would have been cheerfully performed.'" 

"But what part of the charter, or any law of Congress, au- 
thorizes the Secretary to communicate such a reason to the 



WAR ON THE BANK — ITS ALLEGED OFFENCES. 269 

House? Where is his warrant for instructing' Congress as 
to the decision of the people upon a matter of future leg^isla- 
tion ? By what channel does the Secretary or President 
maintain an intercourse with the people, that is not open to 
their representatives? How do they know any thin|T of the 
wishes of the people, which the representatives of the people 
do not better know themselves? The communication of such 
a reason to the representatives of freemen, who are them- 
selves freemen, is without a precedent in thehistory of thisor 
any other representative Government. The alleged fact is, 
moreover, an assumption, and a mere assumption, without 
proof, and without the means of proof It is a political mfer- 
ence, which the people of this country will never sustain, un- 
til they are prepared to say that the election of a President 
is not the result of a preference founded upon his general 
qualifications, opinions and actions, but is an adoption and 
ratification of his single will, to any extent that he has at any 
time declared it, and even when he may have declared it in 
contrary directions, at different times." 

Against this inference of President and Secretary, the re- 
presentatives in both Houses of Congress, and of all parties, 
energetically, protested. IMessrs. Clay, Southard, Wilkins 
and others of the Senate, Messrs. Moore, Wise, Allen, Chil- 
ton, Adams and others of the House, declared, that, thousands 
of voters threw their weight on the side of the successful can- 
didate, who would vote for a National Bank to-morrow. 

430. n. The Secretary charges upon the Bank, unwar- 
rantable reduction of its discounts, and consequent oppression 
of commerce. The specification is, that between Ist Decem- 
ber, 1832, and 2d August, 1833, the Bank increased its dis- 
counts more than two and a half millions of dollars; and, so 
far from preparing to wind up its affairs, although the elec- 
tion of the President had sealed its death-warrant, strove to 
compel the country to submit to the renewal of the charter, 
under the penalty of a currency suddenly deranged : that, on 
the appointment of an agent to seek depositaries, and when 
the demands upon the traders, by Government, were unusu- 
ally large, by reason of the conjunction of the payments of the 
bond and cash duties, the Bank changed its course; and be- 
tween the 2d of Aucrust and the 2d of October, curtailed its 
discounts four millions, whilst the public deposits were in- 
creased- two and half millions; that this reduction compelled 
the State Banks also to curtail, and produced complaints of 
pressure from every quarter; so that, if the public monies had 
23^= 



270 WAR ON THE BANK — ITS ALLEGED OFFENCES. 

continued to be deposited in the Bank of the United States 
for two months longer, and the same system had been fol- 
lowed, a wide spread scene of bankruptcy and ruin must have 
ensued; that these causes left no alternative to the Secretary 
of the Treasury, but to remove the deposits, when, under 
other circumstances, he would have been disposed to direct 
the removal to take effect at a distant day, so as to give 
Congress an opportunity of prescribing, in the mean time, the 
places of deposit, and regulating the securities proper to be 
taken. 

Now, these allegations are, one and all, untrue, either in 
motive or in fact. 

The Bank did not, between the 2d of August and the 2d 
of October, voluntarily contract its discounts a single dollar. 
To protect itself against executive hostility, demonstrated 
during the summer of 1833, it resolved, on the 13th August, 
that the amount of bills discounted, should not be increased ; 
that bills of exchange purchased, except at the western of- 
fices, should not have more than ninety days to run ; that at 
the western offices no bills except those payable in the At- 
lantic cities, having no more than ninety days to run, or re- 
ceivable in payment for existing debts, and having no more 
than four months to run, should be purchased. Subsequently 
other protective measures were adopted ; and the Bank sums 
up its operations, at this period, in the following manner 
1st. That the Bank never directed any curtail- 
ment of its loans until the actual removal of 
the deposits. 
2d. That the only actual reduction of loans took 
place from the 1st of October to the 1st of De- 
cember, when the loans were diminished, $5,641,098 26 
While, at the same time, the public and pri- 
vate deposits were reduced, - - 5,887,864 63 
3d. That from the 1st of December, 1833, to the 
1st of April, 1834, the loans were not re- 
duced, but, on the contrary, actually in- 
creased, and were greater on the 1st of April, 
1834, than on the 1st of October, 1833, by 353,712 95 
While, during that same period, the public 
deposits had decreased no less than - 2,239,393 89 
4th. That the total reduction of loans from the 

1st of October to the 1st of April, was - 5,057,527 22 
While the public deposits had 
been reduced - - .f 0,935,568 84 



WAR ON THE BANK — ITS ALLEGED OFFENCES. 271 

Private deposits, - - 842,834 57 

Making an aggregate of 7,778,403 41 

being a reduction of loans less, by nearly 
three millions, than tire reduction of de- 
posits. 
5th. That, so far from cramping the trade of 
the country, it actually purchased, from the 
1st of October to the 1st of April, of domes- 
tic and foreign bills of exchange, - 34,671,324 00 
6th. That the State Banks were permitted to 

be indebted to the Bank an average amount of 3,464,956 00 
So far were the loans of the State Banks from being con- 
tracted, within the period designated, that, they were gener- 
ally enlarged. This is evident from the report of the Union 
Committee on the State Banks of New York, showing, that 
their discounts were greater on the 1st October, 1833, than 
in January of the same year. The professed disposition of 
the Secretary to delay the removal of the deposits, is effectu- 
ally discredited by the fact, that the determination to remove 
them was proclaimed by the President (and never abandoned) 
long before the cause alleged is stated to have existed. Noth- 
ing can more show the inconsiderateness of the Executive, 
than this utter disregard of facts and consistency. It demon- 
strates, that, this war upon the Bank was one of wild and 
senseless passion. It cannot fail to be observed, that, the very 
effect which the Executive proposed to produce by the re- 
moval of the deposits, namely, the reduction of the discounts 
of the Bank, and which, had it taken place, would have been 
caused by the known intention of removal, is preferred as 
ground of complaint against the Bank, and as the justificaiion 
of the removal. The Bank is censured, because tiie action 
ascribed to it would iiave given effect to the design of the Exec- 
utive; and the deposits are alleged to be removed because the 
Bank took measures to prevent the removal from producing 

distress. 

431. III. The charge, ofmismanagement, against the Bank, 
is a very broad one; we will consider it under the specifica- 
tions of the Secretary. 

I. That the Bank, to avoid accountability, designedly con- 
cealed its affairs from the Government Directors, who were 
appointed to protect the public interests, and to apprise the 
public authorities of misconduct upon its part; that for this 
purpose, violating its charter, it con)mitted the most import- 
ant of its affairs to an ''Exchange Committee," appointed by 



272 \^ AR ON THE BA.NK — ITS ALLEGED OFFENCES. 

the President of the Bank, from which the Government Di- 
rectors were excluded. 

But there is no violation, whatever, of the charter, in au- 
thorizing the President to appoint the Committee of Ex- 
change, or in empowering the Committee to transact the busi- 
ness of exchange or discount. The fourth fundamicntal law 
of the corporation enacts, that "not less than seven Directors 
shall constitute a Board for the transaction of business." 
Transaction of business, does not mean, exclusively, the eo:- 
pcii^ioji of business. Such is not the restricted meaning of 
the word here. 1. Because the requisition of seven Directors 
to do the various business of the Bank, would render the 
execution of business impossible; not even a deposit could be 
received or paid without their presence. 2. The charter, by 
the use of a different term, in different places, shows that 
such is not the meaning of the word. 3. The word, in its 
proper sense, includes direction and execution. 4. The au- 
thority of the Board is legislative ; and, though they can also 
execute any business, the law prescribed, by them.selyes, or 
under the charter, must determine what part they will per- 
form in person, and what remit to others. The quorum is ap- 
pointed tor the exercise of authority as a Board, for legisla- 
tion and for the execution of the commands of the Board. 
5. The body is, by the very name of its office, directive, and 
not executive. This is clearly implied from the provision 
which gives to a substituted Director the power to transact 
all the necessary business belonging to the office of President, 
during the President's sickness, or necessary absence. The 
charter does not declare the business of the President ; that 
is prescribed by the Board of Directors or the by-laws and 
regulations of the Bank. If by the Board, they must have 
power to direct, and he, by virtue thereof, power to execute. 

Upon this principle, the Board may authorize the Presi- 
dent to appoint Committees, a necessary power to every legis- 
lative body, or may authorize a Committee to take order upon 
the purchase and sale of exchange, or for any other act of 
banking, v^here not prohibited by charter. The power exer- 
cised by the Committee of Exchange is not only usual in 
banking, but indispensable to the due management of the pa- 
rent Bank. The question of expediency is, however, for the 
Board, when its legal quorum is present, to decide, and their 
decision has not been questioned by the stockholders as to the 
right. Though the discount of promissory notes is directed 
by the Board of Directors, in person, there is no legal difier- 



WAR ON THE BANK — ITS ALLEGED OFFENCES. 273 

t 

ence betwocn the discounts and exchanges; the Board may 
regulate the whole, as it deems best for the Bank. 

But the charge of concealment, as connected with the al- 
leged violation of the charter, involves great considerations. 
It would seem to imply, general concealment, from omission 
to appoint any of the (Jovernment Directors upon the Com- 
mittee of Exchange; and particular concealment, from au- 
thority given to the Committee on the offices to modify the 
resolutions of the Board for reducing the business of the 
Bank; also, from refusing to tiie Government Directors, a 
copy of the resolution indicating the course of the Bank, and 
which they thought should be transmitted to the Secretary of 
the Treasury. 

The rights specially claimed by the Government Directors, 
are w^holly unfounded. Their right to be members of any 
Committee, has no more legal support than the right of a 
member of the House of Representatives to be upon a Com- 
mittee appointed by that House. It depends, in one case, on 
the pleasure of the House, or which is the same thing, its 
organ, the Speaker; and in the other, upon the pleasure of 
the Board, or their agent, the President. The right to re- 
quire a Committee to report to the Board, is the right of the 
Board; and not of an individual member. The right to take 
a copy of the minutes, depends on the will of the Board, the 
charter containing no direction upon the subject. Such be- 
ing the questions of right, we may advert to those of expe- 
diency and propriety. 

Heretofore, the Government Directors mingled in all the 
transactions of tiie Bank, served on all the important Commit- 
tees, including that of exchange, as their peculiar qualifica- 
tions may have warranted — their selection being always a 
question of qualification. But, in the time of the late Gov- 
ernment Directors, a change had come over the country and 
the Bank, from which they could not escape. It was for a 
long time vehemently suspected, and at length, certainly, es- 
tablished by their own confession,* that the Government Di- 
rectors deemed themselves bound, or entitled, to use their 
posts for the purpose of making representations to the Presi- 
dent of the United States, tending to excite odium against 
their co-Directors, by impeaching their motives and acts, and 
thus to impair the credit of the Bank; that they deemed 

* See their letter to the President, 22d April, 1833, annexed to 
the letter of the Secretary of the Treasury. 



274 WAR ON THE BANK ITS ALLEGED OFFENCES. 

themselves at liberty, in the performance of this duty, as in 
the exercise of this right, to pursue objects which they did 
not care to avow, and which they loere not permitted to 
avow; and finally, that in some way, by some unexplained 
theory of their appointment, they had come to the opinion, 
that they possessed political poicers in the institution, whicli 
they were authorized to use for political purposes ; — that they 
were devised as instruments for the attainment of public ob- 
jects, and that their appointment was given to the President 
with the consent of the Senate, in order to clothe them with 
all the character of official representatives, and lo exact from 
them a discharge of all the duties, ])\i\A\c, political, and patri- 
otic, incident to a trust so conferred. All this being known, 
or vehemently suspected, may have produced doubts of the 
propriety of placing these Directors in posts of trust and con- 
fidence, where ot^er gentlemen, having feelings and reputa- 
tions of their own, might be unwilling to sit with them. 
Such doubts would seem to be fully justified by the sense of 
the Senate of the United States, wliicli refused to advise, or 
consent to their re-appointment, and to the appointment of 
two of them to other offices, to v.^hich thcv were since nom.- 
inated, in rev/ard of their subserviency. 

The object which these instrmnents of the President 
were required to pursue, but forbidden to avow, is now known 
to have been the inculpation of the Board, and, particularly, 
of the gentleman at its head ; and by means of the odium 
thus excited, to justify, to public prejudice, an act of deadly 
hatred to the Bank, of which they v;ere Directors — the re- 
moval of the deposits. With the confession of concealment 
by the Government Directors, to which they were coerced 
by the President, the Secretary of tl^e Treasury arraigns the 
Board for concealing its operations from them. He charges 
the Board with concealment, in violation of their charter, and 
in contempt of the Government, when the head and front of 
their offence is this, only — that they would not consent to be 
the dupes of concealment that was practised by others. 

But the Government Directors wholly misconceived their 
powers and duties. They were not devised as instruments 
of the President, w^hatever they may have made of them- 
selves. There is no difference between the rights and 
duties of any of the Directors. Those appointed by the 
President owe a duty to the nation ; so do the others, and 
they have performed it. Those elected by the stockholders 
owe a duty to the Bank, and so did the others; but they nei- 



WAR ON THE BANK — ITS ALLIX-TD OFFK>'tE8. 275 

ther perfurmed nor acknowledged it. They were not placed 
there to in;ike iiiquiricd for the President, who had Jio au- 
thority to direct inquiries to be nfiude by then). This is a 
question of charter power, of power over a corporation, all 
of whose privilog-es arc rights of property, 'i'hc charter 
gives to the President no such right, it expressly gives to 
the Secretary of the Treasury a right of limited inquiry, by 
investigating such general accounts, in the books of the Bank, 
as relate to the statements which the I3ank is bound to fur- 
nish to the Treasury Department, but no further. Congreea 
have power to inspect the books of the Bank and the proceed- 
ings of the corporation generally. These powers have been 
expressly given, and have been so given, because they 
would not have been derived by implication from the charter. 
But, here is a power to be implied, greater than all, and 
worse than all — a power to be exercised secretly, and without 
avowal; ex parte, without Jioticc, without opportunity of re- 
ply or explanation being given to those whom it aflects, and 
by persons who are holding, to all appearances, the relations 
of amity, with their co-Directors sitting on the same seats, 
and professing the same general ol)ject8. 

If other justification were necessary to the Board than a 
simple statement of the facts, it is to be found, in the appro- 
bation of Committees of both Houses of Congress, repeated- 
ly expressed and sanctioned by their constituents, and the 
concurrence of all persons, whom party has not blinded or 
made mute, 

II. The Bank has also been charged, with abuse of its pow- 
ers, and seeking concealment in relation to the payment of 
the three ]jer cent, stocks of the Government. This afiiiir is 
adverted to, but not enlarged upon, by the Secretary. A 
most perverted statement, however, was given of it by the 
President in his Cabinet manifesto. That document charges, 
that the Bank, from a sense of its inability to pay over the 
government deposits, commenced a secret negotiation with 
the agents for about -S 2,700,000 of the three per cent, stocks, 
held in Holland, to induce them to postpone the receipt, for 
one or more years, after notice should be given by the Treas- 
ury Departni'ent of intention to pay, that the Bank might use, 
during that time, the public money set apart for the payment 
of these stocks. 

"After this negotiation had commenced, the Secretary of 
the Treasury informed the Bank, that it was his intention to pay 
off one-half of the three per cents, on the first of the sue- 



276 WAR ON THE BANK — ITS ALLCGED OFFENCES. 

ceeding July, which amounted to about $6,500,000. The 
President of the Bank came immediately to VVashnigton, and 
upon representing that the Bank was desirous of acconmio- 
dating the importing merchants at New York, (which it fail- 
ed to do,) and undertaking' to pay the interest itself, procured 
the consent of the Secretary, after consultation with the Pres- 
ident, to postpone the payment until the succeeding tirst of 
October. Conscious that at the end of that quarter, the 
Bank would not be able to pay over the deposits, and that 
further indulgence was not to be expected of the Govern- 
ment, an agent was despatched to England, secretly to nego- 
tiate with the holders of the public debt in Europe, and in- 
duce them by the offer of an equal or higher interest than 
that paid by the Government, to hold back their claims for 
one year, during which the Bank expected thus to retain the 
use of $5,000,000 of public money, which the Government 
should set apart for the payment of that debt. The agent 
made an arrangement, on terms, in part, which were in di- 
rect violation of the charter of the Bank, and when some 
incidents connected with this secret negotiation accident- 
ally came to the knowledge of the public and the Govern- 
ment, then, and not before, so much of it as was palpably 
in violation of the charter was disavowed. A modification 
of the rest was attempted with the view of getting the cer- 
tificates without payment of the money, and thus absolving 
the Government from its liability to the holders. In this 
scheme, the Bank was partially successful, but to this day the 
certificates of a portion of these stocks have not been paid, 
and the Bank retains the use of the money." 

Two cases of procrastination of payment are here distinct- 
ly alleged against the Bank. The facts are, with regard to 
the 

First, that in March, 1832, the Secretary of the Treasury 
informed the President of the Bank of the intention of the 
Government to pay, on the succeeding first of July, to each 
etockholder, one-half of his three per cent, stock, remarking 
'* if any objection occurs to you either as to the amount or 
mode of payment, I will thank you to suggest it." The 
President replied, that so far as the Bank was concerned, no 
objection occurred to him; it being sufficient that the Gov- 
ernment had the necessary funds in the Bank. He suggest- 
ed, however, that in the existing state of the commercial 
community, with a very large amount of revenue (nine mil- 
lions) to be paid before the first of July, the debtors of the 



WAR ON THE BANK — ITS ALLEGED OFFENCES. 277 

Government would require all the forbearance and aid that 
could be given Ihein; that the proposed payment of several 
mill'ons to European stockholder^;, tending to diminish the 
usual facilities, might endanger thu punctual payment of the 
revenue; and that, therefore, it might be advisable to post- 
pone such payment until the next quarter. 

This suggestion was supported by letters from Mr. Mc- 
Duffie, chairman of the Committee of Ways and Means, and 
Mr. Cambrelcng, chairman of the Committee of Commerce. 
The Government wished the postponement; and the only 
difficulty, arising from a desire to save the quarter's interest, 
the President of the Bank removed, by an agreement to pay 
the interest, as the money would remain with the Bank, — a 
provident and laudable bargain, certainly, for the institution, 
since it paid three, and would receive six per cent, on the 
amount. The committee of investigation, before whom the 
whole subject was, in 1832, by their majority, reported, "that 
they were fully of the opinion that the Bank neither sought 
for, nor requested a postponement of the payment by the 
Government;" being, however, hostile to the liank, it added, 
"yet if such postponement had not been made, the Bank would 
not, on the first of July, have possessed the ability to meet 
the demand, without causing a scene of great distress in the 
commercial community." The ability of the Bank is no longer 
to be doubted, and its efforts to save the commercial com- 
nmnity from great distress, merit the grateful acknowledge- 
ments of the country. And yet this transaction is represent- 
ed by a President of the United States as a cause for dis- 
creditino- the fiscal agent of the nation, at home and abroad. 

With regard to the second postponement, it appears, that 
in the year 1832 the country was iieavily indebted to Europe 
for large importations of 1831 ; it was desirable that lime 
should be given to pay the debt, from the annual earnings, 
and that no addition should be made to the foreign demand. 
But there were more than twenty-five millions of the public 
debt payable in that year, of which more than fifleen were 
to be paid in nine months, and between eight and nine of it, 
to foreigners- The Bank, from its exhibits, was prepared for 
the first payment on the 1st of October, 1832. 

"In this state, the Bank, had it considered only its own in- 
terest, would have been perfectly passive, since it was per- 
fectly at ease. But it had other and higher interests to con- 
sult. From ihe communication with the Treasury in July, 
it was probable that the funds of the Government might be 

24 



278 WAR ON THE BANK — ITS ALLEGED OFFENCES. 

insufficient to pay the debt advertised to be paid — and that 
even if these lands were adequate, the operation would ex- 
haust all the means of the Government, and require that the 
community should repay the whole amount of the public funds 
distributed among- them. It v»^as further manifest, that the 
ability of the Government to meet its engagements, depend- 
ed entirely on the punctual payment of the revenue in the 
commercial cities, from July to January, which was estimated 
at about twelve millions of dollars. 

" That resource was threatened with the greatest dantrer 
by the appearance of the cholera, which had already begun 
its ravages in A^ew York and Philadelphia, vrith every indi- 
cation of pervading the whole country. Had it continued, as 
it beg-an, and all the appearances in July warranted the be- 
lief of its continuance, there can be no doubt it would have 
prostrated a.11 commercial credit, and seriously endangered 
the public revenue, as in New York and Philadelphia alone, 
the demand on account of the foreign three per cents was 
about five millions." 

The Bank, therefore, made an arrangement with the foreign 
owners of this stock to the amount of about four millions, to 
leave their money in the country for another year, assuming 
to pay the interest instead of the Government. 

All these things were fully explained by the Committee 
of Ways and Means, to whom that part of the President's 
message was referred, and the Committee accordingly report- 
ed as follows: — 

" The arrangement made by the Bank for a temporary 
postponement, with the consent of tlje holders, of the pay- 
ment of five millions of the three per cent, debt, being now 
substantially closed by the surrender to the Government of the 
certificates of stock, except for a small amount, and the whole : 
debt itself, as far as respects the Government, paid,, at an i 
earlier period than it is probable it w'ould otherwise have i 
been, this question seems no longer to present any important i 
or practical object of inquiry, or to call for, or admit, any ji 
action of Congress upon it.' : 

This ought to have been satisfactory, yet was the subject re- i| 
vived, with the addition of two distinct errors in point of fact, j 
The first was, that the Bank ' was conscious that at the end of i 
the quarter it v/ould not be able to pay over the deposits' — { 
whereas the state of the Bank, proved its entire ability to i 
make this payment, and that its interposition was exclusively i 
dictated by the desire to avert an additional trouble at a sea- 'i 



WAll ON THE BANK — ITS ALLEGED OFFENCES. 279 

son of pestilence. The second is, that the part of the ar- 
rung-cment made witii the agent of the Bank was not disa- 
vowed until 'some incidents connected with this secret negfo- 
tiation accidentally came to the knowledge of tiie public and 
the Government.' The fact is, that as soon as that part of 
the arrangement, which seemed to conflict with the charter, 
was received, the determination was made to decline execut- 
ing it, before any publication, of any sort, was seen or known, 
in regard to it." 

43:2. IV. The Secretary further alleges that the interest 
of the Bank is its ruling principle, and that the just claims 
of the public, are disregarded, when in collision wit'i the 
interests of the corporation. The case of the French bill 
is the speciiication under this charge. We may remark, 
here, that so aptly, for the benetit of the nation is this Bank 
constituted, that it is scarce possible, for any of its acts to 
enure to the injury of the Government, and that the interest 
of the Bank is the interest of the State. And, such, on ex- 
amination, will prove to be the case in relation to the claim 
for damages upon the protest of the bill drawn upon the 
French nation, by the Secretary of the Treasury. 

The following is the President's statement. 

"The Bank became the purchaser of a Bill drawn by our 
Government on that of France for about 900,000 dollars, being 
the first instalment of the French indemnity. The purchase 
money was left in the use of the Bank, being simply added 
to the Treasury deposits. The Bank sold the Bill in England, 
and the holder sent it to France for collection; and arrange- 
ments not having been made by the French Government for 
its payment, it was taken up by the agents of the Bank in 
Paris, with the funds of the Bank in tlieir hands. Under 
these circumstances, it has, through its organs, openly assail- 
ed the credit of the Government, and has actually made and 
persists in a demand of fifteen per cent., or ^158,842 77, as 
damages, when no damage, or none beyond some trifling ex- 
pense, has in fact been sustained, and when the Bank had in 
its own possession on deposit, several millions of the public 
money v/hich it was then using for its own profit." 

This is an unfair and partial view of the case : of which 
the following is the true exposition. In this transaction, the 
Bank was not the fiscal agent of the Government. It offered 
to become such, to collect the bill without charge, and to 
place the amount to the credit of the Government on the 2d 
of March, 1S34, at the current rate of exchange of the best 



280 WA.R ON THE BANK — ITS ALLEGED OFFENCES. 

bills, on that day, in Philadelphia, but this offer was refused; 
and the Governnjent, after considering proposals from other 
quarters, decided to sell the bill to the Bank — the Bank pay- 
ing for it nearly one and a half per cent, more than for a large 
amount of other bills, then purchased. 

The purchase money was not left in the use of the Bank, 
being simply added to the Treasury deposits. But had such 
been the fact, no change would have been made in the nature 
of the question. The payment was complete — the funds 
were to the credit of the Government, subject to its order, 
and as effectually out of the control of the Bank as if they 
had been withdrawn in specie. Not only was this the case; 
but the intention of withdrawal was immediately announced. 
Credit was given to the Treasurer on the 11th of February, 
1833 ; and on the 6th of March, the Secretary offered to lend 
the money. Yet this was not all. The identical proceeds 
of the bill were actually used by the Government in payment 
of its ordinary expenses, by the 20th of May. 

The Bank paid the amount of the bill in the United States 
in the most inconvenient form. When it was protested in 
Paris, the agent of the Bank paid it on account of the Bank; 
so that the Bank actually paid for the bill twice; — having, of 
course, credit for the proceeds of the sale of the bill in Lon- 
don; but its actual disbursements on account of the bill were 
upwards of $1,800,000, — and when, on the 22d of March, 
the protested bill came back, the whole amount to the credit 
of the Treasury, throughout the whole United States, with 
the exception of the Danish indemnity money, was not two 
thousand dollars more than the Bank had advanced on account 
of the bill. Had it been otherwise, the use of the deposits 
by the Bank would be no ground for the release of damages; 
since a full and covenant consideration w'as paid for that, by 
the stipulated services of the Bank. 

Upon return of the bill the Bank called upon the Govern- 
ment, according to invariable usage, for principal and dam- 
ages. The claim is a legal one, and there is not a disinter- 
ested merchant or lawyer of the land who does not pronounce 
it a just one. The demand was not only in the ordinary 
course of business, but was a duty to the Government, in or- 
der to enable it to prosecute with more effect, the claim 
which the nation, by its authorized agent, had then made 
upon the French Government, for the very damages due 
on protest for non-payment. If our Government had a 
right to draw the bill it has an unquestioned right to damages 



WAR ON THE BANK — ITS ALLEGED OFFENCES. 281 

for its dishonour; — and tlic act of duty on the part of tlie Bank 
may enable the national treasury to receive as a stockholder 
in the Bank, the sum of $31,000 as its portion of these dam- 
ages. But its legal liability does not depend on this; and it 
is denied, with a very ill grace by a party, which, under utl cir- 
cumstances of solvency or insolvency has exacted damages on 
protested bills of e.xchange purchased from American citizens. 
But suppose the claim to be questionable, does it justify the 
tierce denunciation of the Bank by the Executive? It is a 
question i)etwecn American citizens and their Government, 
depending on the law of the land and determinable by its ju- 
dicial tribunals. The Bank has ever demonstrated a disposi- 
tion to resort to these tribunals; but as it cannot sue the Gov- 
ernment, it has no other course than to excite the Government 
to bringf suit against it. To this end, it has retained dividends 
on the United States stock, to the amount of the damages; 
and, by suit, the administration might, by this time, have set- 
tled the question. But throughout this war, it has sedulously 
avoided submitting any question, involved in it, to the arbi- 
trement of law ; and now proposes to employ its plenary 
power, to inflict additional injury on the Bank, by forbidding 
the reception of its paper at the Treasury, notwithstanding 
the nation has covenanted by law to receive it; and thus to 
annul a charter, not as the English monarchs have done, by a 
quo warranto, and a corrupt judiciary, which, thank heaven, 
is unknown to our country, but by a tyrannical stretch of 
legislative power. This purpose, we also thank heaven, the 
Executive cannot effect. If it have influence sufficient, in 
the House of Representatives, to obtain its sanction to such 
a bill, there is power in the Senate to save the country from 
such indelible disgrace. 

433. V. The last reason assigned by the Secretary, for 
removal of the deposits is, that the Bank had sought political 
power. This is a grievous charge, and grievously, if true, 
should it be answered. The specifications are: 

1. That, with a view to influence the measures of the Gov- 
ernment, by causing its weight to be felt in the election of 
public officers, the Bank increased its discounts, from $42,- 
402,304 24 to $63,026,424 93; nearly fifty per cent, in one 
year; and on the 1st of May, 1832, to $70,428,070 72, being 
an augmentation of $28,025,766 48 in sixteen months. This 
extraordinary increase of its loans, was made when the char- 
ter had hut four years to run, with little chance of renewal; 
when she was aware of the necessity of closing up her vast 

24^ 



282 WAR ON THE BANK — ITS ALLEGED OFFENCES. 

concerns, and upon the eve of a severely contested election, 
in which she took an open and direct interest, demonslrateSf 
that she was using her means for the purpose of obtaining a 
hold upon the people, in order to operate upon their fears, 
and to induce them, by apprehensions of ruin, to vote against 
the candidate whom it desired to defeat. 

Here is a singular compound of allegations of fact, and sup- 
positions. The former are untrue, and the latter wholly gra- 
tuitous. The time at which the alleged increase of loans 
was made, was not within /owr, but six years of the termina- 
tion of the charter ; — a time at which no reasons of prudence 
required a limitation or reduction of the business of the Bank, 
other than the ordinary principle of safety. That such prin- 
ciple was duly regarded, is evident from the present perfect 
condition of the institution. The chances of renewal were 
greatly in her favour, as demonstrated by the fact, that an 
act for that purpose passed both Houses of Congress — the 
Bank could not, a priori, assume, or believe, that a President 
of the United States, avowing no constitutional scruples, 
would oppose himself, with his obnoxious Veto, to the declared 
sense of the country, upon a question of expediency. The 
hold which the Bank was to get upon the people implies, that 
the loans, if made, were made to insolvent debtors, with the 
knowledge of their insolvency. For, if made to solvent debt- 
ors in the ordinary way of business, they could have no effect 
upon the opinions or votes of the borrowers. There are things 
asserted in morals, as in physics, which are incredible, be- 
cause they are in opposition to known laws of action. It is 
contrary to these, that, an institution, whose end and aim is 
pecuniary profit, guided by intelligent men, should put at 
hazard twenty-eight millions of its funds, to affect an object 
that was already attained. For, there is not a man in the 
country who does not know, that had the President been neu- 
tral upon the subject, the Bank would have been rechartered 
without objection. 

The truth is, that in the year 1831, there being a most 
active foreign and interior trade, requiring unusual facil- 
ities for its operations, the Bank having received the reim- 
bursement of its loan to Government, amounting to more 
than eight millions ; and having called in its funds in Eu- 
rope, and employed its credit there to the amount of four 
millions, possessing thus additional means of loaning, to the 
amount of nearly thirteen millions, actually increased its loans 
to the amount of seventeen millions; making in fact a mere 



WAR ON THE BANK— ITS ALLEGED OFFENCES. 283 

increase of its investments not equal to five milTions ; of which 
increase the new Branch Bank of Natchez, established within 
that period, alone contributed nearly three millions. 

2. It is also charged, that, to obtain political influence, the 
Bank placed its whole capital at tl^e disposition of its Presi- 
dent. This extravagant charge has no other foundation, than 
that, this officer was authorized to cause to be prepared and 
circulated, '■^ stick documents and papers as might communi- 
cate to the people information in regard to the nature and 
operations of the Banky 

The amount expended by virtue of this authority/ was ex- 
aggerated by the Executive to $80,000; the objects to which 
they were applied, were congressional reports, pamphlets, 
relating to the Bank, and newspapers containing proceedings 
of Congress, and discussions of this interestmg topic. 

Now, the expenditure for these purposes, during four years, 
instead of $80,000, was but $58,000, which the Bank was 
obliged to incur, to defend itself against injurious misrepre- 
sentations. With this expenditure, the stockholders, the na- 
tion included, are, so far as their sense can be ascertained, en- 
tirely content. The Directors, eligible by the private stock- 
holders, have been re-elected — the public Directors, eligible 
by the nation, who misrepresented and denounced the ex- 
penditure, have been rejected, expressly upon the ground of 
misrepresentation, in this very case. What more conclusive 
can be said, as to the propriety of the conduct of the Board, 
in their defence of the Bank ! 

But how vast is the difference in the injury done to the na- 
tion, by the respective parties in this unnatural and causeless 
war made upon the Bank, by the administration. As stock- 
holders in the Bank, the citizens of the United States have 
lost twelve thousand dollars, which the Bank has been com- 
pelled to expend in self-defence. The people hold 70,000 
shares of the stock, which, when the President of the United 
States declared war against that institution, were worth each 
130 dollars. The result of that war was, to reduce the value 
of each share $25; making a loss upon the interest of the 

{)eople, of one million seven hundred and fifty thousand dol- 
ars, which the President of the United States has caused by 
his electioneering, against the Bank, and for himself; and the 
loss which he has occasioned upon the aggregate amount of the 
Bank stock, was eight millions seven hundred and fifty thou- 
sand dollars!! 

3. There is a tliird specification under tho charge against 



284 WAR ON THE BANK — ^ITS ALLEGED OFFENCES. 

the Bank — of attempting to gain political influence. It is 
made by the President, in his cabinet manifesto; but, the Sec- 
retary of the Treasury has had the grace not to dwell upon 
it, in his report to Congress. It is, " that the Bank controls, 
and, in some cases, substantially owns, and by its money svp- 
porls, some of the leading presses in the country," by un- 
warrantable loans. But as this charge has not been persisted 
in, and the reports of the Committeeof Investigation, in 1832, 
and the Senate Committee of 1834, cover the whole ground 
which Congress did not believe an improper one, we will not 
enlarge upon it, further than to say, it stands a monument of 
the baseless slanders which have been fabricated by party 
malevolence against this institution. 

In determining on the propriety of the conduct of the Sec- 
retary, we may consider the acts of the Bank, either as con- 
sistent with, or in violation of, the charter. In the first case, 
they are mere acts of administration or njanagem.ent of the 
Bank, which the United States, as a stockholder, has agreed 
to commit to the discrection of the Board of Directors. Nei- 
ther the Government Directors nor the President of the 
United Statess have a veto on the proceedings of the Board. 
If their resolutions be lawful, they bind all the stockholders, 
public and private; and if inexpedient, their correction is to 
he sought in the annual elections. Upon questions of admin- 
istration, within the legal competency of the Board, there is 
no more justification of an attempt to tear the Bank to pieces, 
by a part of the Directors, or by the Treasury Department, 
in support of them, because the voice of the minority is not 
respected, than there would be for an attempt, by a State or 
States, for the like reason, to sever the Union. All the par- 
ties to the contract have agreed, that questions of administra- 
tion within the lawful competence of the Legislature, whether 
of the Bank or of the Union, shall be decided by a majority; 
and if they require correction, that they shall be corrected by 
a majority, and in no other way. If the measures of the Bank 
were lawful, the dissatisfaction of the Secretary with them 
was no cause for removing the deposits. The management 
of the Bank has not been committed to him. He has no right 
to inspect its management, or even its condition, except in a 
limited way, for the purpose of ascertaining the security of the _ 
deposits. To have given him the power of removal in any 
case in which he should deem the management wrong, would 
have been to give him, c-lTcctually, the management of the 
Bank in every particular. 



WAR ON THE BANK — ITS ALLEGED OFFENCES. 285 

If, on tlie other hand, the acts questioned, are violations of 
the charter, tlie objection to the Secretary's nets are not less 
strong-. He is not the officer to whom the charter has con- 
fided tlie authority to direct a prosecution for its violation. 
ft has expoessly confided that authority to others — the Bank 
is entitled to be heard, before any judg;ment of violation is 
pronounced — and tliat judgment is to be rendered by the ju- 
dicial department only. 

434. In addition to the outrage upon justice, the law, and 
the Bank, which we have now recorded, we must notice an- 
other act of like character in taking from the Bank the pen- 
sion funds and agency. 

By the system of pension agency, as established by law, 
the Bank of the United States and its branches are required 
to pay the pensions in States where they are respectively es- 
tablished : and the Bank designates, for this purpose, some 
State Bank where there is no Branch Bank; and where there 
is no State Bank, the Secretary at War is authorized to ap- 
point a pension agent. 

The Administration made several efforts to obtain posses- 
sion of these funds, at certain places, prior to January, 1834, 
by transferring them to the State Banks, at Portsmouth and 
Albany; but, the remonstrances of the Bank of the United 
States exhibited the illegality of the measure in so strong a 
light, that, Mr. Eaton, Secretary at War, revoked, himself, 
one of his orders, and his successor recalled the other. These 
were very mortifying circumstances, producing a festering 
wound in the mind of the President ; the pain of which 
could be assauged, only, by vengeance. For this, a mean 
was supposed to bo discovered in the pliraseology of the pen- 
sion acts of 15th May, 1828, and 7th June, 1832, which, by 
tbrced construction, it was thought, might be separated from 
the general pension system; although they had been recog- 
nized as parts of that system, by every executive department, 
and, what is more to the purpose, by several subsequent 
acts of Congress, in which they were, by name, styled 
pension acts. This, however, proved no barrier to executive 
invasion ; and in January, 1834, the Secretary at War an- 
nounced the appointment, on the same day, of fifteen new 
pension agents (pet banks,) to perform the duties, theretofore, 
fulfilled by the Bank of the United States, under the act of 
1832 ; and, at the same time, that Bank was forbidden to pay 
any pensions accruing under that act, and directed to trans- 



286 WAR ON THE BANK — ITS ALLEGED OFFENCES. 

fer the funds, books and papers, relating thereto, to the newJy 
nominated agents. 

With this requisition of transfer the Bank refused to com- 
ply, on the ground, that it was not warranted by law, and 
that the Bank was alike bound by its duty to Congress and 
regard for its own safety so to do. 

On the 4th of February, the President of the United States 
communicated this refusal to Congress, denouncing the Bank 
in unmeasured terms, for attempting to impede and defeat 
the measures of the administration, usurping the functions of 
the judicial power, and prescribing to the executive depart- 
ment the manner in which it should execute the trust con- 
fided to it by law. 

This grave but unfounded accusation, having been duly" 
examined by the Senate, like every other accusation against 
the Bank from the same source, has been dissipated into thin 
air. On the 26th of May, the Senate resolved ; 1. That the 
Department of War is not warranted in appointing pension 
agents in any State or Territory where the Bank of the 
United States or one of its branches lias been established, ex- 
cept when specially authorized by act of Congress. 2. That, 
no power is conferred hy any lam upon the department, or 
Secretary at War, to remove the agency for the payment of 
pensions, under the act of 7th June, 1832, or the funds, 
books and papers, connected with that agency, from the Bank 
of the United States, and to appoint other agents to super- 
sede the Bank in the payment of such pensions. 3. That the 
act of Congress for the relief of certain officers and soldiers 
of the Revolution, passed on the 15th May, 1628, and the act 
supplementary to that act, passed on the 7th June, 1832, are 
properly acts providing for military pensions. In these posi- 
tions t!ie minority of the Committee of Ways and Means of 
the House concurred. 

The President had referred this subject to the Attorney 
General; who, to maintain tlie authority claimed by the 
Secretary of War, contends, from the words of the third 
section of the act of 1832, directing the pay allowed by 
the act, "to be paid to the officer, &c. at such places 
and days as the Secretary may direct;" "that as the power 
to appoint the place of payment is unlimited, the Secretary 
may appoint a place at which there is no Bank or other pen- 
sion agent; in which case X\iq poiocr to appoint an agent to 
})ay must, necessarily, exist, or the acknowleged power to 
appoint a place of payment be defeated. In this class of 



WAU ON THE BANK — ITS ALLEGED OFFENCES. '287 

rases, the power to apjioint a place of payment, is tlnis seen 
to include, as incidental to it, tlic power of appointing- an 
agent to pay. And if that power be possessed, in any one 
case, it would seem to be possessed in every other; unless, 
imleed, it can be held, that the same word, in this law, means 
one thing in reference to one place, and a totally diHerent 
thing in reference to another — a construction too refined to 
be readily adopted." 

We have, here, a new exposition of the principles which 
so broadly characterize the present administration, and in all 
their latitude. Their enormity is equalled only by the ab- 
surdity of the conclusions of the Secretary from his assumed 
premises. On other occasions the Executive contended, tliat, 
the right to superintend and direct an agent gives, as an in- 
cident, the power to remove him: now, the Executive claims 
that the power to appoint, is incident to the duty of superin- 
tendence. Thus, if the Legislature give to the Executive a 
supervisory or other connection with any subject, the power 
to modify it, to do all and every thing in and about it, is im- 
mediately obtained as incidental. And thus a right is set up 
not only to appoint and remove the officers established by the 
Constitution or created by law, but to create, direct and re- 
move officers, at the will of the Executive. 

The monstrosity of this principle becomes obvious, when 
we carry it into one of the most important departments of the 
executive functions — the army. As commander-in-chief the 
President may lawfully designate the times and places at 
which the army may assemble. But, says the Attorney Gen- 
eral, the power to designate the time when, and the place 
where a thing shall be done, includes the power of determin- 
ing idIio and how many shall do it; therefore, the President 
may not only direct the troops, levied pursuant to law, to ren- 
dezvous, but may call forth as many soldiers and officers as he 
may choose. With such a power and such an Executive, our 
political liberties would soon be numbered aniong the relics 
of lost w^orlds. 

Cut, the conclusions of the Secretary are not less revolt- 
ing to reason, than his principles are to the Constitution. 
"The Secretary," he says, "may appoint a place, at which 
there is no Bank or other pension agent, in which case the 
power to appoint an agent to pay must, necessarily, exist." 
Now, we do not see this necessity of executive assumption of 
power, when the Legislature is half the year in session, and 



288 WAR ON THE BANK ITS ALLEGED OFFENCES. 

may supply the omission, real or supposed, in any statutory 
provision. 

But let us, for a single instant, admit the correctness of 
the Secretary's deduction. That necessity extends, only, to 
the case supposed; viz. that in which there is no Bank or 
other pension agent. A case forming an exception to the 
general rule, and of course, proving the rule; w'hich is, that, 
where there is a Bank, or other pension agent, the Secretary 
cannot appoint. But the instant the exception is assumed, it 
IS converted into the rule, and the right claimed to appoint, 
where, and because, the law has not designated an agent, is 
tortured into a right, to appoint agents in all places, and es- 
pecially in fifteen places, where the law had already estab- 
lished them. 

The annual appropriation for pensions exceeds four mil- 
lions, and we cannot doubt that the desire to obtain the un- 
controlled possession of these millions and to increase the num- 
ber of dependants was the motive of the Executive, in divert- 
ing them into the channels through v/hich they now pass. 
With the other treasure of the nation, the pension millions 
were also obtained, save the small sum which remains in the 
Bank, subject to the disposition of Congress. It is proper,; 
though almost needless, to say, that the views of the Attorney 
General had the entire concurrence of the President. 

435. The, Bank has been charged with violating its charter 
by the issue, for general circulation, of drafts of the branches 
on the parent Bank. This measure had become indispensable 
to supply the demand for the Bank paper, which could not be 
done by any exertion of the President and Cashier, who by lav/ 
were required to sign the notes of the institution. The meas- 
ure was not employed until approved by able legal advisers, 
amono- whom was the Attorney General of the U. States. 
When adopted, it was approved at the Treasury Department, 
and such drafts were received upon the same footing as the 
notes of the Bank; and their legality has been repeatedly 
confirmed by the approbation of the Committees of Congress, 
and by decisions of the Courts of the United States. Mr. 
Woodbury, the present Secretary, has however, in the fierce 
spirit of vindictiveness, given order to refuse these drafts in 
future payments to the United States. How far this measure 
will be injurious to the Bank we know not; but we are cer- 
tain it must, cause much unnecessary inconvenience to the 
public. The great advantage of dealing with the Bank must 
keep these drafts in demand; but the receivers may be put to 



WAR ON THE BANK — ITS ALLEGED OFFENCES. 289 

Bome delay in the use of tlie funds in their payments, espe- 
cially to the Government 

436. The Bank has been also cliarg-ed with the multiplica- 
tion of its branches with the design of obtaining and extend- 
ing political influence. This charge is characterized with 
the most wanton disregard of facts. The principle which has 
governed the institution upon this, as upon every other sub- 
ject, is a due regard to its proper interests and the public ac- 
commodation.* If the Bank had sought, by multiplying its 
offices to exert a controlling influence over public sentiment, 
it would have been furnished a fair apology, in the numerous 
applications addressed to it from every quarter, to have mul- 
tiplied them almost ad infinitum. Those applications have 
been sustained, in many instances by men of the most exalt- 
ed reputation. Among these may be named, men of all par- 
ties, and no small proportion of such as have become the 
greatest enemies of its preservation and prosperity — Mr. 
Jefferson, Mr. Madison, General Jackson, Mr. Van Buren, 
Mr. Cambreleng, Mr. Grundy, Mr. Bell, Mr. Barry, Mr. 
Benton, &:c. &c 

In the last sixteen years there have been seventy-one ap- 
lications for the establishment of branches, embracing almost 
every part of the country. Of these, sixty-three have been 
rejected. Of the eight which have been granted, at Nash- 
ville, Natchez, St. Louis, Mobile, Portland, Burlington, Utica, 
and Buffalo, two only, at Utica and Burlington, were estab- 
lished by the Bank without an express call from the Legisla- 
tures of the respective States, wherein they were located, or 
the urgency of the Treasury Department. 

In relation to all charges against the Bank of attempting 
to obtain political influence, we may offer one conclusive ob- 
servation. All efforts for this purpose have been denied and 
disproved by all the Committees that have been appointed by 
Congress to inquire into its proceedings. But let ns admit 
ex gratia that the attempt has been made. The result shows, 
that, for this purpose it is wholly powerless ; and that so far 
from being able to subject politicians to its wishes, it has 
been the victim of politicians, and is in imminent danger of 
destruction because it has refused to become their instrument, 

* It is difficult to conceive how it could in any way enlarge the 
sphere of its influence, by locating a branch where neither the 
wants of commercial men, or of any other class, required increas- 
ed banking facilities. The want of borrowers would seem to be 
as fatal to the spread of its influence, as the want of money to lend. 
25 



CHAPTER XIX. 

THE JUDGMENT OF CONGRESS UPON THE SEIZURE OF THE 

PUBLIC TREASURE. 

437. When the reasons of the Secretary were communi- 
cated to Congress, an effort was made by the executive par- 
tisans to divert attention from them to the conduct of the 
Bank, to put it, and not the Secretary upon trial. An effort 
was also made, to get the subject from the representatives of 
the nation into the recess of a committee room ; thus to avoid 
the discussion which unpledged, unbiassed members would 
give it. These efforts were defeated ; and the debate on the 
report of the Secretary occupied Congress almost exclusive- 
ly, for nearly two months. 

438. Had this subject come before Congress, simply, upon 
the relation which the law established between them and 
their fiduciary, no other question than the sufficiency of hia 
reasons, could have possibly arisen; and probably a sharp 
reprimand, perhaps impeachment, would have attended an or- 
der for the restoration of the deposits. But the far-reaching, 
all-grasping responsibility of the President, rendered the pro- 
priety of his conduct, the chief subject of consideration. 

439. The removal of the deposits was ostensibly, peculiar- 
ly, a measure of the President, but in truth was that of Mr. 
Van Buren and the party. Tts effect, as its design, was, to 
extend and confirm that influence which the abuse of the ap- 
pointing power had created. Upon it the reputation of tlie 
President, the hopes of his designated successor, and the pre- 
servation of the party were perilled. Nothing, perhaps, could 
more fully display the extent and the evil of the unconstitu- 
tional influence of the Executive, than the disregard it pro- 
duced, in Congress, of the remonstrances of the people upon 
this occasion. The removal of the deposits deranging the 
currency and impairing commercial confidence, had produced 
universal distress. The voice of complaint swelled from every 
part of the country, and the sufferings of the people overcame 
even party bias. Every mail bore to Washington petitions 
and remonstrances, condemnatory of the executive measures, 
and praying Congress, specifically, for relief, by the restora- 

290 



JUDGMENT OF CONGRESS. 291 

tion of the deposits. The petitions against these measures 
were seven times more numerous than tliose in support of 
them ; every where the people convened, to condemn them, 
in masses wliich had never been collected, save in seasons of 
great excitement and imminent danger; the opinions of large 
districts which had been remarkable for unanimity in favour 
of the Executive, were changed; and the constituents of some 
of the most efficient tools of the President deserted them. 
Of the sense of the people, on this subject, there could be no 
doubt; seven-tenths of them disapproved of the removal of 
the deposits; yet, such was the influence acquired by the Ex- 
ecutive over the legislative department, that their complaints 
were mocked, the representation of their sufferings declared 
untrue, and the source to which they ascribed them, denied 
by their representatives. 

440. Committees from the people, instructed in their griev- 
ances, came personally, to the seat of Government, to present 
their views to Congress and the President. By the latter, 
they were, for a short season, received with courtesy : but, 
his undisciplined, arrogant, and irrepressible temper, could 
not long brook the complaints and remonstrancesof those who 
were suffering beneath his policy. His impatience and an- 
ger were displayed in rude manners and captious questions; 
in violent and abusive denunciations of the Bank, and reiter- 
ated assertions of its insolvency. Commanding the petition- 
ers to seek relief at the hands of the President of the institu- 
tion, he mocked their distresses, declaring, that the failures 
which afflicted the country, were only amongst the stock-job- 
bers, brokers and gamblers, whom he wished to God were all 
swept from the land — that, he had never doubted that brokers, 
stock-speculators, and all who were doing- busiyiess on a bor- 
rowed capital, would suffer severely, under the effects of his 
measures, and that, all such people ought to break ; — con- 
cluding with vociferations "that he would never restore the 
deposits, would never recharter the United States Bank, or 
sign a charter for any other Bank, as long as his name was 
Andrew Jackson." 

These undignified scenes could not but offend and disgust 
the nation. To avoid their consequences, the friends of the 
President, rather than expose him longer to occasions to 
which he was unequal, chose to shut the doors of the First 
Magistrate against the delegates of the people, charged to 
communicate their griefs, to remonstrate against their causes, 
and to enlighten and reclaim their author. P'or the first time» 



292 JUDGMENT OF CONGRESS. 

in a free country, a Chief Magistrate refused to listen, in per 
son, to the voice of his constituents. 

441. Aftei" a debate, as ardent and as able as was ever had 
between patriotism and illegal power, the reasons of the Sec- 
retary were sent to the Committee of Ways and Means. 
The reports of the majority and minority of that committee 
stand side by side, presenting the strong contrast of subservi- 
ence to executive will and patriotic devotion. Avoiding to 
put before the House the only proper question arising upon 
those reasons, the propriety of past executive action in rela- 
tion to the public treasure, the majority of the committee in- 
troduced new subjects for legislation : 1. That the Bank of 
the United States ought not to be rechartered ; 2. That the 
public deposits ought not to be restored to it; 3. That such 
deposits ought to be continued in the State Banks; and 4. 
That a committee should be raised to inquire into the man- 
agement, corruptions, and political conduct of the Bank of 
the United States. 

The House approved the first proposition by a vote of one 
hundred and thirty-five to eighty-two; sixteen members, 
though opposed to executive encroachments, having constitu- 
tional or other scruples against continuing the Bank. The 
second proposition on which the strength of the administration 
was displayed, was carried by a vote of one hundred and nineteen 
to one hundred and four: exhibiting the appalling fact that the 
Executive controlled one hundred and nineteen of the repre- 
sentatives of the people, not one of whom, so far as the evi- 
dence goes, conscientiously approved of the removal of the de- 
posits ; for every effort to procure a vote affirming the suffi- 
ciency of the Secretary's reasons, was impracticable. 

442. Under the 4th resolution, a committee of investiga- 
tion, of seven members, was raised, by a vote of 174 to 41. 
Five of the committee were notorious, executive partisans, 
bent upon the destruction of the Bank, and therefore disposed 
to view with prejudiced eyes, and to misrepresent all its ac- 
tions. The Directors of the Bank, fully instructed in the 
character and objects of the committee, resolved to place 
themselves upon the rights guaranteed by their charter, to 
aid freely in every inquisition Congress might legally de- 
mand, but to resist, firmly, every effect of illegal search, orig- 
inating in a design to criminate the Directors. A committee 
of seven was appointed by the Board, of which Mr. John Ser- 
geant was chairman, to receive the committee of the House 
of Representatives, and to offer for their inspection, such 



JL'DOMENT OF (ONORESS. 293 

books of the Bank as might be necessary to exhibit the pro- 
ceedings of the corporation according to the requirements 
of the charter. 

The committee of inquiry sought to obtain absolute and ex- 
clusive possession of the books of the Bank — to abstract them 
from the banking house — to examine them, in secret, and 
without the presence of the agents of the Bank — to make 
them subsidiary to an inquest into matters not alleged to be vio- 
lations of the charter, but which supposed bribery and corrup- 
tion, in which members of Congress and directors of the Bank 
were parties. Other requisitions were made, covering a wide 
range of mquiry of the most miscellaneous character, including 
documents which had been already communicated to Congress; 
others which could not be prepared without great labour, and 
which were not necessarily, nor officially, in the possession of 
the Bank — matters on which no desire of concealment could 
possibly be imposed — and others involving the highest confi- 
dence of individuals, not to be divulged, except under legal 
compulsion, without the grossest breach of faith. These rea- 
sons, in connection with the objects for which the requisitions 
were made, constrained the Board to refuse compliance witli 
most of them. 

In two investigations, previously made into the affairs of 
the Bank, it had submitted, without reserve, to every possible 
mode of inquiry, for every possible purpose. Congress had 
not assumed a hostile position against it, and the Directors 
felt full confidence in the disposition of the national Legisla- 
ture to do them justice, against any efforts, illegally, to im- 
peach their characters, or arraign their conduct. At the last 
investigation, they were applicants for a re-charter, and they 
could not object to any latitude of inquiry demanded by a 
Hou.se of Congress favourably disposed to their wishes, pro- 
vided the result of the examination should be satisfactory. In- 
stead, therefore, of placing themselves upon their rights, they 
opened all their books and papers to unconditional inspection 
and unreserved examination. The inquiry was pushed into 
every matter of alleged abuse, and wherever it was supposed 
the Bank was vulnerable. Nothing was spared; nothing held 
back. Books and papers were submitted, and personal ex- 
aminations on oath were endured, although, avowedly for the 
purpose of discovering matters of inculpation against the Di- 
rectors. The materials thus collected, were spread before 
Congress, and the people, even by the exertions and the ex- 
pense of the Bank. 

2d 



294 JUDGMENT OF CONGRESS. 

But, a very different state of things had succeeded this tri- 
umphant vindication of the integrity of the Bank. The hos- 
tility of the administration against it had become desperate 
and reckless, — its insolvency was falsely proclaimed — the 
most beneficial condition of its contract with the nation was 
violated, by withholding the deposits — a majority of the House 
of Representatives, elected before the passage of the late Bank 
bill, were pledged to the enmity of the administration, and 
had declared their opinion, that the Bank ought not to be re- 
chartered, nor the deposits restored. To sanction this opinion, 
known, unquestionably, to be opposed to that of the nation, 
charges of the most unwarrantable designs, and the most cor- 
rupt practices, were alleged against the Directors; to sustain 
which, per fas aut nefas, there was but too much reason to 
believe this committee of investigation had been raised. 

Whilst the Bank was, in every object of legal inquiry, 
bound by its charter, and willing, to co-operate, it was its right 
and its duty to resist every mode of inquisition for the crimi- 
nation of the Directors ; more especially, as every essential 
matter of inculpation, now brought forward, had already been 
examined into, and passed upon, by Congress. From the mea- 
sures of the administration and the majority of the House of 
Representatives, the objects of the committee of investigation 
could not easily be mistaken. But those objects are exhibited, 
in letters of light, by the minority of that committee, men 
distinguished alike for sound morals and cultivated minds. 
"They think, that no candid person, contemplating all the 
circumstances of the case, from the first demonstration of a 
policy on the part of the Executive, hostile to the Bank, down 
to the recent measures, in support of that policy in the House 
of Representatives, will deny, that its object was the over- 
throw of the institution, and the impeachment of its Direc- 
tors, before the bar of public opinion, if not before that of the 
judicial tribunals of the land, of gross malpractices, corrup- 
tions and frauds; and that the inquiry, to be conducted by the 
committee, was proposed to be one of the measures to pro- 
mote that end. So far from this being denied, they under- 
stand it to be, not only admitted, but claimed as a merit, on 
the part of the friends of the present administration of the 
National Government." 

In what spirit could such a design be met by honest and 
honourable men, conscious of their probity and of their ability 
to protect this valuable possession against invasion 1 For, it 



JUDGMENT OF CONGRESS. 295 

is against sucli, this disreputable inquisition was directed. 
The Bank is a mere legal abstraction, incapable of virtue or 
crime. Its Directors are the responsible agents — charged 
with a most cruel and perfidious design to bring universal dis- 
tress upon the country, for paltry and selfish ends — and for 
promoting these, with corrupting the conductors of the press, 
corrupting the people in the exercise of the elective franchise, 
and corrupting the members of Congress. Were tiiey to sub- 
mit to the charge without a murmur — to admit the existence 
o^ Xi prima facie case against them 1 Did the strong and in- 
dignant feeling, that their characters were outraged, while 
their rights were invaded, call upon them, voluntarily, to take 
the culprit's place, and endure the ignominy of an unwar- 
ranted and vexatious inquisition ') Or was it not rather the 
natural dictate of proud and conscious innocence to place 
themselves upon their rights, beneath the aegis of the law? 

443. That the Bank had no wish to conceal any of its pro- 
ceedings, is still further demonstrated by the readiness and 
freedom with which it opened all its transactions to a Com- 
mittee of the Senate, soon after appointed; which, sitting du- 
ring the recess of Congress, had ample time and means for 
investigation, and which has most fully exculpated the insti- 
tution. On this subject, that committee thus testifies, in their 
unanimous report: "They deem it proper to say, that, in 
the examination they have made, every facility was afforded 
by the officers of the institution, which the committee could 
have desired. No hesitation or reluctance was manifested 
in furnishing any book or paper which was required ; and 
every avenue to a full and free investigation, not only at the 
Bank, but at the several branches visited by the committee, 
or any member of it, was promptly laid open." 

444. The committee of investigation from the House, baf- 
fled in an iniquitous purpose, reported their proceedings witii 
resolutions affirmatory of the rights which they had claimed, 
and recommending that the Speaker issue his warrant for the 
President and Directors of the Bank, and bring them to the 
bar of the House, to answer for contempt of its lawful author- 
ity. The minority of the committee, Messrs. E. Everett and 
Ellsworth, who had throughout the whole inquiry dissented 
from their colleagues, also made report, ably sustaining the 
Directors, and declaring that, "firmly believing, that, they 
(the Directors) are innocent of the crimes and corruptions 
with which they have been charged ; and that, if guilty, they 



296 JUDGMENT OF CONGRESS. 

ought not to be compelled to criminate themselves, wc are 
clearly of the opinion, that the Directors of the Bank have 
been guilty of no contempt of the authority of the House, in 
having, respectfully, declined to submit their books for inspec- 
tion, except as required by charter." Such, too, seemed the 
opinion of the House, and perhaps of the committee itself, as 
no further measure was seriously sought upon the subject. 

445. In Senate, on the 20th December, Mr. Clay, beside a 
resolution censuring the President, which we shall hereafter 
notice, reported another, declaring, "the reasons assigned by 
the Secretary of the Treasury for the removal of the money 
of the United States, deposited in the Bank of the United 
States, and its branches, communicated to Congress on the 
3d day of December, 18»^3, are unsatisfactory and insufficient." 
The debate on these resolutions continued until the 4th Feb- 
ruary ; when, that relating, immediately,to the Secretary, was 
referred to the Committee on Finance, Mr. Webster chair- 
man, whose report, on the succeding day, closed with the re- 
commendation to the Senate to adopt the resolution ; which 
was done, on the 28th March, by a vote of 28 to 18. 

On the 28th May, Mr. Clay offered two joint resolutions 
to the Senate ; one similar to that we have just mentioned — 
the other directing the public money accruing on and after 
the 1st July, 1834, to be deposited with the Bank of the Uni- 
ted States, pursuant to the charter. The first was passed by 
a vote of 30 to 16, and the second by a vote of 28 to 16. Be- 
ing sent to the House of Representatives, they were laid upon 
the table, there to sleep in oblivion. Thus, the majority of 
the House again shrunk from the question of the sufficiency 
of Mr. Taney's reasons; and though effectually sustaining 
his measures, dared not meet the responsibility of formally 
justifying them. 

446. A bill for regulating the disposition of the public 
money, was subsequently passed in the House of Represent- 
atives, but as it went to legitimate the outrage which had 
been perpetrated upon the country and the chartered rights 
of the Bank, it was rejected in Senate. The power of the 
public treasure, always, in free governments, jealously de- 
nied to the Executive, is for the present, in the President. 
Its use serves to perpetuate the power exercised over the 
co-ordinate authorities of the Government, and tends to con- 
centrate in the executive department the whole power of the 
State. The Legislature and the people are enveloped in 



JUDGMENT OK CONGRESS. 297 

toils, which, even now, cannot be easily broken ; and the con- 
tinuation of the Jackson dynasty, by the election of Mr. Van 
Buren or any other person carrying out the principles which 
have prevailed during the past six years, must, inevitably, pro- 
duce a Government so corrupting and corruot, as to be un- 
worthy of preservation. 



CHAPTER XX. 

.i^t'< EXECUTIVE ASSUMPTIONS OF POWER. 

447. We propose to group in this chapter several assump- 
tions of power on the part of the Executive, for which we 
have not found place in our preceding views. The first and 
most important is the right claimed over all the officers ap- 
pointed by the President, and its consequence, the control of 
the Treasury. But preparatory to the examination of this 
claim, we must narrate the circumstances which led to its 
assertion. 

We have seen, that, by the law, the power over the de- 
posits of the public money in the Bank of the United States, 
was submitted to the discretion of the Secretary of the Trea- 
sury; and that, its exclusive existence in him was expressly 
recognized by the President; but that, notwithstanding, the 
President removed the Secretary, because he would not sub- 
mit that discretion to him, — assuming an absolute right to 
direct that officer in all his duties. 

A more important question than this claim induces, has 
never come before the country since the organization of the 
Pederal Government. It involves nothing less than the dis- 
tribution of the powers of the Government. If the assump- 
tion be sustained, all the officers of the Government cease to 
be the agents of the laws, and become the mere deputies of 
the President. Its first, and worst result, is to give him ab- 
solute control over the Treasury — to unite in the same hand 
the sword and the purse. This is the strongest case which 
can be put, of the mischief of such power, and in relation to 
it we shall consider the assumption. 

Upon a review of the Acts of Congress, no unprejudiced 
mind can, we think, fail to conclude, that it was designed to 
organize the Treasury Department, upon principles of re- 
sponsibility, different from those adopted in the other depart- 
ments. The act of 2d September, 1789, drops from the title the 
word " Executive," not by accident, but by design, as it was 
in the bill, as originally reported; but what is more to the 
purpose, that act imposes upon him specific duties, and re- 
quires him "to make report and give information to either 
branch of the Legislature, in person or in writing, as he may 

299 



EXECUTIVE ASSUMPTION OF P0» KIl. 2ffJ 

be required, respectinp^ all inatlers rcfrrrrd in liiiti hy lie 
Senate or House of Representatives^ or which shall apper- 
tain to his office ; and generally, to perform all such scriicrs 
relative to the finances, as he shall be directed to prrfonn. 
Whilst the acts constituting the departments of State, ot 
War, and of the Navy, impose upon tlieir respective Secre- 
taries such duties as the President may direct, and require 
them to leport to him, the Secretary of tlie Treasury is to 
perform the duties relative to finance, as directed by Con- 
gress, and is required to report to them. 

Although the Secretary of the Treasury may have duties 
of an executive character to perform, yet his, is not an exec- 
utive department, in the performance of acts which concern 
the custody and security of the public monies in the treasury. 
His department is not, in this, a presidential department. To 
have placed the custody of the public treasure within the ex- 
ecutive department, would have been a constitutional incon- 
gruity — putting the power of the purse and the sword in the 
same hand — marring the harmony and simplicity of the 
whole scheme, by leaving to Congress the duty of paying tlie 
debts and providing for the common defence and welfare, 
while the money collected for these objects was not under 
their control. It would make, and the adoption of the doc- 
trine has made, the power of appropriation entirely futile; be- 
cause, by force of it, the public money is as little under the 
control of Congress before appropriation as after; and it gives 
the control of the public treasure, so far as the position and 
distribution of it can give such control, to a department that 
can wield the whole force of the revenue against the legisla- 
tive department and the people. 

448. Impressed with these views, Mr. Clay offered to the 
Senate, the following resolution: 

Resolved, That, by dismissing the late Secretary of the 
Treasury, because he would not, contrary to his sense of his 
own duty, remove the money of the United States in deposit 
with the Bank of the United States and its branches, in con- 
formity with the President's opinion; and by appointing his 
successor to effect such removal, which has been done, the 
President has assumed the exercise of a power over the 
Treasury of the United States, not granted to him by the 
Constitution and laws, and dangerous to the liberties of the 
people. 

This resolution, after a protracted debate, was modified by 



300 EXECUTIVE ASSUMPTION OF POWER. 

the mover, and passed by a vote of twenty-six senators out of 
forty-six, in the following words: 

Resolved, That, the President in the late executive pro- 
ceedings, in relation to the public revenue, has assumed upon 
himself authority and power not conferred by the Constitution 
and laws, but in derogation of both." 

449. This rebuke, inferior only to conviction on impeach- 
ment, excited the President to a novel and exceptionable 
measure, in the form of a protest against the act of the Sen- 
ate as illegal and unconstitutional. In this very extraordina- 
ry document, the President maintained the power he had as- 
sumed, upon the following principles. 1. That the executive 
power is vested in him by the Constitution: 2. That it is his 
sworn duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed: 
3. That it is his right and duty to nominate, and by and with 
the advice and consent of the Senate to appoint, all officers 
of the United States whose appointments, are not otherwise 
provided for. From these premises, he infers, that, the whole 
Executive Power being vested in him, who is responsible for 
its exercise, it is a necessary consequence, that he should 
have a right to employ agents of his own choice to aid him 
in the performance of his functions, and to discharge them 
when he is no longer willing to be responsible for their acts. 
In strict accordance with this principle the power of removal, 
which like that of appointment, is an original executive pow- 
er, is left unchecked by the Constitution in relation to all ex- 
ecutive officers, for whose conduct the President is responsi- 
ble, while it is taken from him in relation to judicial officers, 
for whose acts he is not responsible. 

450. We have already shown, that the executive power 
vested in the President is that, and that only, which is derived 
from the Constitution — that there is, in the Federal Govern- 
ment no executive power prior to, and above that instrument 
— no original executive power whatever: — and, that, conse- 
quently, no power of removal, as the President contends, was 
taken from him, by the Constitution. We have shown, also, 
that, the responsibility here assumed by the President is ideal. 
He does not suppose, that he is liable to impeachment and 
punishment for the misconduct of any officer. The utmost 
extent of his responsibility is to public opinion — a tribunal 
which will always acquit him of the misconduct of his ap* 
pointees, unless they be appointed from corrupt motives, or be 
retained, in office, after unquestionable malversation, as in the 
case of the Postmaster General. 



EXECUTIVE ASSUMPTION OF TOWER. 301 

Tlie argument derived from the duty of the President Ui 
take care tiiat the laws be taithfiilly executed proves too 
much; as,if it prove any thing, it proves, that, the PrfBident 
may direct the judges, as well as other othcers during plea- 
sure. The supervisory power cannot control the discretion 
of an officer, given to him by law, because the faithful execu- 
tion of the law consists in the exercise of such discretion; 
and to disturb that exercise is to violate the law, not to exe- 
cute it. It is a power not enlarging the President's authori- 
ty, but declaratory of the result of other powers before given 
to him by the Constitution. It is corrective, to put aside, 
where his power is adequate, both dishonesty and incompe- 
tency ; but it is not directory nor transcendental, to bring all 
the officers and operations of the nation under his sway. 

Under the construction at present given to the Constitution 
and laws, the President, certainly, has the power to remove 
most of his appointees from office. But that is not the mat- 
ter, now, for consideration. The question is, whether the 
power to remove, involves, as a consequence, the right to 
direct. The principle which must govern this question would 
seem to be, that the right of direction, wherever it exists, re- 
sults from official connection, subordidation and responsibility 
and not from tenure of office. If the duty belong to the 
Executive Department, the right of direction is in its head, — 
if to the Judiciary, the right of direction is in the judges, — 
if to the Legislative, the right of direction is in Congress. 
The direction in these several cases, by force of this princi- 
ple, is in perfect harmony with the system. It proceeds from 
official responsibility to the principal, and the duty of the sub- 
ordinate, to follow what the principal directs. The subordi- 
nate is bound to obey, because the principal is responsible for 
him in the very matter directed, and his direction justifies the 
officer who obeys him. Any other principle must produce 
perpetual conflict and confusion. The attempt to make a test 
of the removing power fails as soon as applied. The mar- 
shals are, as to matters of judicial cognizance, directed by the 
Courts, to whom they are responsible, and for the proper di- 
rection of whom the Courts are responsible ; yet the Courts 
do not appoint, and cannot remove, the marshals. 

Under these views, the supervisory power of the President 
may be reconciled with the responsibility of his appointee to 
another authority. His power will be corrective whilst the other 
will be directory and transcendental. Thus as in case of the 
Secretary of the Treasury, Congress may prescribe the du- 



302 EXECUTIVE ASSUMPTlOiN OF POWER. 

ties and require reports to them of its performance and the 
President may remove for ascertained non-performance or 
malfeasance. If, however, we grant to the President a direc- 
torial power, consequent on the power to remove, the case is 
not one of usurpation, but may be one of abuse of power. 
The propriety of an attempt to direct the conduct of the sub- 
ordinate, will depend on his powers and duties. If they accord 
with the direction given by the President, he may justly re- 
move for disobedience; if they do not, the removal will be an 
abuse of power, perverting it to a purpose for which it was 
never designed. But the danger of this perversion is so im- 
minent whenever the superior officer is disposed to strengthen 
his own hands, that the power which makes the subordinate 
wholly dependent cannot be safely entrusted to him. This is 
fully demonstrated in the proceeding of the President on the 
removal of the deposits. 

451. But, the President contends, that, the Treasury De- 
partment is on the same footing as the other departments;— 
that, the Secretary, being appointable and removable by him, 
is an executive officer, the mere instrument of the Chief 
Magistrate, in the execution of the laws, and like the other 
heads of departments, subject to his supervision and control ; 
That, the pretension, that, the Secretary is an officer of Con- 
gress is not warranted by any thing in the Constitution ; no 
joint power of appointment is given to the two houses of 
Congress; nor is there any accountability to them, as one 
body. The consequence of this position is, that, the President 
has uncontrolled disposition of the Treasury, as all the infe- 
rior officers must also be subject to his direction. 

The President, however, does not leave his pretensions to^ 
the possession of the Treasury to be for a moment doubtful, 
or to rest upon inference. He claimed distinctly the right to 
manage the public treasure, in his inaugural message ; and 
in his protest to the Senate, there is nothing equivocal ; the 
doctrines in that message are thus summed up by him: 

" It is settled by the Constitution, the laws, and the whole 
practice of the Government, that the entire executive power 
is vested in the President of the United States; that, as inci- 
dent to that power, the right of appointing and removing those 
officers who are to aid him in the execution of the laws, with 
such restrictions only as the Constitution prescribes, is vested 
in the President ; that, the Secretary of the Treasury is one 
of those officers; that, the custody of the public property and 
money is an executive function, which, in relation to the 



EXECUTIVE ASSUMPTION OF POWER. 303 

money, has always been exercised through the Secretary of 
the Treasury and liis subordinates; tliat, in the performance 
of these duties, he is subject to the supervision and control of 
the President, and in all important measures iiaving relation 
to them, consults the Chief Magistrate, and obtains his ap- 
proval and sanction ; that the law establishing the Bank did 
not, as it could not, change the relation between the Presi- 
dent and the Secretary — did not release the tbrmer from hia 
obligation to see the law faithfully executed, nor the latter 
from the President's supervision and control; that, afterwards, 
and betbre, the Secretary did in fact consult, and obtain the 
jianction of, the President, to transfers and removals of the 
public deposits; and that, all departments of the Government, 
and the nation itself, approved or acquiesed in these acts and 
principles, as in strict conformity with our Constitution and 
laws." 

This unequivocal and presumptuous claim to the }X)ssession 
of the public funds produced universal astonishment and in- 
dignation in Congress, and throughout the country, com- 
pelling even the usually unyielding temper of the President 
to bow before them. An attempt was therefore, made 
within four days atler the communication of tiie protest, to 
qualify it by a supplement, alleging that several passages of 
the former might be misunderstood. 

" I admit," he said, " without reserve, as / have before 
done, the constitutional power of the Legislature to provide 
by law, the place or places in which the public money or 
other property is to be deposited, and to make such regula- 
tions concerning its custody, removal, or disposition, as they 
may think proper to exact. Nor do I claim, for the Execu- 
tive, any right to the possession or disposition of the public 
property or treasure, or any authority to interfere with the 
same, except lohen such possession or disposition or author- 
ity is given by law ; nor do I claim the right, in any man- 
ner, to supervise or interfere, with the person entrusted with 
such property or treasure, unless he be an officer whose ap- 
pointment, under the Constitution and laws, is devolved upon 
the President alone, or in conjunction with the Senate, and 
for vvhose conduct he is constitutionally responsible." 

The extent of the claim of the President over the public 
property and money, as an executive function, is not at all 
narrowed by this explanation. For all officers of the United 
States must be appointed by the President in conjunction 
with the Senate, by the President alone, or by the courts of 



304 EXECUTIVE ASSUMPTION OF POWER. 

law, or the heads of departments ; in the last case, the sub- 
ordinates are appointed by the superior officers, and by and 
through them are subject to the President ; and he does claim, 
even in the supplement, by unequivocal implication, the right 
to " supervise or interfere with the person entrusted with the 
public property or treasure, if he be an officer whose appoint- 
ment is devolved upon him alone, or in conjunction with the 
Senate." 

452. If it were the duty of the Senate to reprehend the in- 
terference of the President with the functions expressly, and 
exclusively, given to the Secretary of the Treasury, it was 
more specially required, to rebuke the audacious assumption 
of power maintained in the protest, as well as the invasion of 
the privilege of the Senate by the protest itself 

By a vote of 27 to 16, a majority more than double that on 
the former reproof, the Senate resolved, "That the protest 
communicated to it on the 17th April, by the President of the 
United States, asserts powers belonging to the President, 
which are inconsistent with the just authority of the two 
Houses of Congress, and inconsistent with the Constitution 
of the United States." And, at the same time, the right 
claimed and exercised by the President, to make a formal 
protest against votes and proceedings of the Senate, declaring 
them to be illegal and unconstitutional, and requesting the 
Senate to enter such protest upon its journals was repudiated, 
and the protest was declared a breach of the privileges of 
the Senate, and refused a place on its journals. 

453. Not content with the share in the appointing power, 
which the Constitution has allotted to the President, he has 
sought to engross the whole power to himself; by endeavour- 
ing to make his nominations imperative and conclusive upon 
the Senate; by availing himself of, and making, opportunities, 
to fill vacancies, without their consent; and by appointing to 
office, persons who have been rejected by the Scna,te. Thus 
when the Senate have rejected his nominations, as in the case 
of the Surveyor of the Port of New York, of the Receiver of 
the Land Office in Mississippi, he has renominated them ; pro- 
curing the appointment to be made in one case, though it was 
rejected in the other. So, when the presidential instruments, 
the Government Directors of the Bank, were rejected by the 
Senate, they were renominated, with a threat that unless ap- 
proved, no others would be named : Thus, the nomination to 
office which should have been made during the session of the 
Senate, has been reserved until the adjournment of that body, 



EXECUTIVE ASSUMPTION OF POWER. 305 

when die officer has been nominated and thus enablod to hold 
his place until near the rising of the Senate from the suc- 
ceeding session; by which means, the officer retained place 
for many months without the assent of the Senate, as was the 
case of Senator Hill, whilst officiating as a Comptroller of the 
Treasury : Thus, instead of submitting, at the earliest conve- 
nience, the nomination of the high offices of State, for the ap- 
probation of the Senate, as in the cases of Mr. Taney, Secretary 
of the Treasury, and Mr. McLane, Secretary of State, he kept 
them in office the greater part of a year without the approba- 
tion of the Senate, and many months during the session of 
that body : Thus, when the Senate rejected Stambaugh, the 
editor of a newspaper, nominated as an Indian Agent, ho was 
immediately after appointed to the sub-agency ; and when 
Gwinn was rejected, as Receiver of a Land Office, he was 
immediately upon the rising of the Senate, reinstated in the 
office for which they deemed him unfit. 

454. To this dispostion to abuse the power of appoint- 
ment belongs the case of the Turkish mission. It has always 
been contended by the Senate that the President has no pow- 
er, without the advice and consent of that body, to institute a 
mission to a State with which we have had no previous di- 
plomatic relations ; and whenever the occasion has presented 
itself they have testified their disapprobation. Thus, they had 
negatived the mission instituted by Mr. Jefferson to Russia; 
entertained the protest against the appointment of the minis- 
ters to Ghent, even during war ; and reproved the claim of 
right made by Mr. John Q. Adams in relation to the Panama 
mission. 

The power perhaps is a doubtful one, and much may be 
said, for and against it. Mr. Adams had instituted a mission 
to Turkey in 1828, and doubtless believed himself constitu- 
tionally entitled so to do. Granting the right of the Presi- 
dent to institute such missions, during the recess of the Sen- 
ate, he is certainly required, by the Constitution, to submit the 
appointment of the ministers he may select for the approval 
of the Senate, at the next session after the appointment,' if 
the service shall so long endure. 

On the 12th September, 1829, and during the recess of the 
Senate, President Jackson appointed commissioners to nego- 
tiate a treaty with the Sublime Porte. All parties agreed, 
that, it was the duty of the President to have submitted the 
appointment of the commissioners to the Senate, unless the 
mission was at an end before the Senate had adjourned ; and 

26 



306 EXECUTIVE ASSUMPTION OF POWER. 

for the justification of the President this was alleged to have 
been the fact. But, unfortunately, it was not true, and the alle- 
gation was clearly an afterthought. For all purposes of moral 
responsibility that which is not known, which does not appear, 
does not exist. The treaty was signed on the 30th May, at 
Constantinople, 4000 miles distant from Washington, and sup- 
posing the signature to have terminated the character of the 
agents, to affect the action of the President it must have been 
known to him, in proper season. The Senate adjourned on 
the 31st May, and the President knew not of the execution 
of the treaty for months afterwards. 

But, the most extraordinary part of the case remains to be 
told. The ministers of the President, (under any other chief 
we would have said the ministers of the republic) who were 
supposed to be properly instructed in the history and politics 
of the State, which no one, it seems, in the Senate expected 
the President to be, had either led or suffered him to go 
wrong. Four of his cabinet counsellors had been members 
of the Senate during the memorable Panama discussion. 
One, the Secretary of the Navy, was the mover of the reso- 
lution declaratory of the rights of the Senate, and denying to 
the President the right then claimed, and here exercised; 
Another, Mr. Van Buren, was the most earnest advocate of 
those rights, denouncing the claim of power then preferred, 
as part of a long settled system, covertly, to increase the 
influence and patronage of the Executive ; and all four unit- 
ed in the vote on that occasion denying the power to the Ex- 
ecutive. 

From these facts, one of two inferences is inevitable, either 
these Cabinet ministers, when Senators, were insincere and 
factious in their denunciations of the intentions of President 
Adams or convinced of their truth were disposed to aid Pres- 
ident Jackson in the covert increase of influence and patron- 
age, — unless, indeed, we adopt the supposition, that, they little 
heeded such measures of the administration as came not with- 
in the pale of their respective departments. But this serves 
not Mr. Van Buren. He was directly charged with the 
management of General Jackson's foreign relations, and upon 
his advice the President, certainly, reposed. The inference, 
therefore, in relation to him, is, indeed, inevitable, that he 
wittingly usurped power forbidden by his own construction of 
the Constitution. He was fresh from the consideration of the 
subject ; had examined it m all its bearings, knew and expos- 
ed its tendency ; yet, recommended it to the President, and 



EXECUTIVE ASSUMPTION OF POWER. 307 

aided to give it effect. He Jias, therefore, premeditatedly 
violated the Constitution to obtain power; yet ventures to 
solicit the suffrages of the people for that office, which will 
enable him most effectually to consummate a boundless am- 
bition. 

455. The Senate of the United States firmly withstood all 
the efforts of the administration to subject it. The arts of 
the administration were not unessayed. The highest ofl[ices 
of the country were open to such of the members as devoted 
themselves to its defence. Upon the second recomposition of 
the Cabinet, after the rejection of Mr. Taney and the resig- 
nation of Mr. McLane, Mr. Forsyth, Senator from Georgia, 
became Secretary of State, Mr. Dickerson, late Senator from 
New Jersey, Secretary of the Navy, whilst Mr. Wilkins, 
Senator from Pennsylvania, received the Russian mission, 
Mr. Buchanan's term in its use having expired. 

456. In the House of Representatives the administration 
was more successful ; it had obtained a majority of menribers 
which was adroitly managed by the Speaker whose allegiance 
liad been entirely secured, even before his election to the 
House, by the assurance that he should have the important 
mission to England, which for near a year was kept vacant 
for him. The Speaker, even, when the majority of the House 
is against him, may impart much of the colour of his wishes 
to its proceedings. By artful construction of the rules and lex 
parliament aria, he may give a desired direction to its busi- 
ness ; may facilitate party measures concocted out of the House; 
by convenient deafness and shortsightedness may exclude 
from debate dangerous opponents; and by the appointment of 
Committees may give a first impression to any measure, and 
advance or retard it at pleasure. When the majority of the 
House is with him, all this may be done, not only with im- 
punity, but with applause. The dark stain of turpitude is 
almost invisible, in the glare of success. 

The election of Mr. Stevenson of Virginia, Speaker of the 
House in the 22d Congress, to the 23d Congress and to its pre- 
siding chair was truly anticipated and the Executive seems, to 
have, early, resolved to secure his allegiance by all those liens 
which he could weave around an ambitious mind. To him, 
therefore, the English mission was, confidentially, proposed on 
the 15th of March, 1833. The proposal was kept secret lest it 
should prevent his election. He went to the House, therefore, 
under a secret promise of a high office, the consideration for 
which he could not mistake, and presided when a bill was 



308 EXECUTIVE ASSUMPTION OF POWER. 

passed, appropriating to himself, an annual salary of $9,000, 
and a like sum for outfit. 

There cannot be a doubt that the Speaker paid the price 
which was expected. It is notorious, that, in performance of 
his ordinary official duties, he gave such offence, that some 
weeks elapsed, after his resignation, before the House ten- 
dered to him, reluctantly and ungraciously, the accustomed 
vote of thanks; and, that, his devotion to Executive measures 
separated him from the people of his district and the Legis- 
lature of his State. The Senate of the United States, re- 
jecting the nomination, most properly, set upon this collusion, 
the seal of reprobation for which there was never a more im- 
perative requirement. 

457. We have thus noticed the principal measures of the 
Jackson administration, with the exception of the manifold 
corruptions of the Post Office Department. This Depart- 
ment, upon the advent of the administration was in such 
prosperous condition, that, it not only paid its expenses, but 
gave a surplus of funds applicable to the general revenue. 
But in a few short years its receipts, were not only inadequate 
to pay the demands upon it, but it was involved in a debt of 
some hundred thousand dollars, which had been incurred, by 
extravagant contracts and extra allowances given to party 
agents. To meet the deficiency, the Postmaster General 
borrowed large sums, upon the credit of the United States 
without any authority, whatever, and directly in contravention 
of the Constitution. The measure was unanimously con- 
demned in the Senate. Not a voice was raised to justify or 
extenuate the gross and criminal assumption of power. A 
partial examination into the operations of the Post Office by 
a Committee of the Senate had developed many and enor- 
mous abuses, which induced the appointment of another Com- 
mittee to prosecute the inquiry during the recess of Congress. 
After months of labour, that Committee developed and reported 
at the close of January 1835, a mass of corruption, which could 
scarce be paralleled in the most rotten governments of Europe. 
Unfortunately, this document, when published, will be so vo- 
luminous, that, it will not be read by the greater proportion 
of the citizens. We would, if it were before us, have, wil- 
lingly* undertaken to prepare a synopsis of its contents ; but 
must, now, content ourselves with giving the first action of the 
Senate, upon ine report, in the form of a resolution now be- 
ibre that body. 



EXECUTIVE ASSUMPTION OF POWER. 809 

" Resolved, Tliat, the General Post Office is deeply in debt 
— its affairs in great disorder — its accounts and reports ir- 
regular, unsatisfactory, and in many instances untrue — that 
large sums of money have been wasted and paid over to fa- 
voured individuals, upon false pretences — and that its con- 
duct and administration are justly the subjects of public com- 
plaint, and demand a radical reform." 

We have denied that the President is responsible for the 
conduct of his appointees. If he were, all the turpitude of 
the administration of the Post Office would fall upon him, and 
he would he liable for impeachment for high crimes and mis- 
demeanours. But the President has a supervisory power 
which requires him to remove from office for incompetence or 
malfeasance. Admit him to have been totally ignorant of 
the crimes of the officers of the Post Office department pre- 
vious to the investigation of 1834, he became, or might have 
become, fully instructed in regard to the report of the commit- 
tee. Admit that, he chose to ascribe much of that report to par- 
ty action, it was impossible for him to have placed upon that 
ground the condenmation of the Post Master General, for ille- 
gally borrowing monies upon the creditof the U. States; since 
the ilagrancy and enormity of the offence called forth an unan- 
imous vote of reprobation in the Senate. What then became 
the duty of the President, upon the principles recognized by 
all parties? Was it not the removal of the unfaithful officer? 
But so far from doing this, the President has retained and 
commended him, and sought to bring the odium of the people 
upon the Senate; perverting the powers vested in him by the 
laws to the protection of bribery, peculation and direct vio- 
lation of ihe Constitution. Is it asked what inducement had 
the President for such a course 1 The answer is at hand. 
The Post Master General had the most abundant means, and 
was the niost efficient agent, in support of the J«ickson party ; 
and whatever he may merit from the country, he deserves 
thanks and protection from those lie has faithfully and ably 
served. 



RECAPITULATION. 

458. The measures which President Jackson has origina- 
ted or sustained, reprehensible as they are in. present inflic- 
tion, have an aspect yet more fearful and portentous. They 
have become precedents, which, as articles of party faith, 
guiding future practice, threaten to overthrow the most valu- 
able institutions of the country. His official term draws to a 
close, the influence of his name will pass away, but the evil 
he has countenanced will live after him. The successor 
whom he has designated, entertains, as is understood, all the 
dangerous doctrines which the present incumbent has main- 
tained. He is of middle age, artful and ambitious, with facul- 
ties in full vigour, and with a disposition and means to carry 
those doctrines out to their most dangerous results. In a 
word, the doctrines of Jacksonism are party doctrines, and as 
such are to be dreaded and combatted. We will exhibit a 
summary of them, and contrast them with those professed by 
.the Whigs. This exposition will show, that no name was 
ever more misapplied, than that of Democratic Republicans, 
which has been assumed by the Jackson party. Their true 
designation is Tory ; which has long characterized the party, 
which in free governments is opposed to representative de- 
mocracy. 

I. The Tories hold, that, the President, as the depositary 
of the executive power, has the right to control and direct 
every officer who is appointed by him, or his appointees : — 
That, he may dismiss any such officer at his pleasure, for 
causes which 1'iave, or have not, relation to his official duties: 
That, all offices are distributable, as rewards to devoted par- 
tisans, to be holden so long, only, as the incumbent performs 
the party services required of him: That, in the appoint- 
ment to office, the Senate is bound to confirm all nominations 
made by the President, under the pain of being deemed fac- 
tious, and a worthless excressence upon the body politic. 

The Whigs hold, that, in appointments to office, the voice 
of the Senate is as potential and independent as that of the 
President, the one to nominate and the other to confirm ; and 
that, it is the duty of the President, to submit every nomina- 
tion for confirmation, at the earliest possible period: That, 

310 



RECAPITULATION. 311 

the term of oflice should be so long as tlie incumbent compe- 
tently and faithfully performs his olhcial duties; that, being 
selected for his capacity and integrity, he should be wholly 
independent of party; and that, consequently, offices are not 
spoils of party victories: That, the President has a super- 
visory power over all his appointees; that, he may dismiss 
them from office when they are faithless and incompetent; 
but that, being the officers of the law, the law prescribes their 
duties, with which he cannot interfere; nor has he rightful 
power to remove them for any cause, whatever, not connected 
with their official duties, much less tor the purpose of punish- 
ing political opponents, or rewarding political friends. 

II. The Tories believe, that, it is a proper employment of 
the executive patronage, to influence the elections, by the 
corrupting cry of " rotation in office," and the ministration 
of executive officers in party contests : That, it is just and 
politic to employ such patronage in influencing and directing 
the two Houses of Congress, rewarding with the highest hon- 
ours of the nation, the most active and unscrupulous parti- 
sans. 

The Whigs believe, that tlie voter should be kept as free 
as possible from all official influence — that, official mcumbents, 
being unrestrained in their political opinions, should cautiously 
abstain from bringing the influence of their places to bear 
upon ilie polls; and that, whilst members of Congress should 
be eligible, as, but not preferably to, other citizens, to official 
honours and emoluments, their appointments to place should 
never be purchased by party services, or obedience to execu- 
tive commands. 

Ill- The Tories advocate the equalization of imposts upon 
every species of import, not duty free ; the surrender of pro- 
tection for all manufactured articles not indispensable in war; 
the free importation of foreign manufactures, regardless of the 
destruction of our own; the reduction of the revenue to an 
amount barely sufficient to pay the army and navy, and the 
civil list; and that, the National Government should neither 
appropriate money for, nor direct any species of, public im- 
provement 

The Whigs teach, that, the wants of the Government, 
whatever they may be, should be supplied by imposts upon 
such imports as rival and injure our manufactures, so far as 
this can be done, without prohibiting Uie imports; that, under 
this limitation, every species of domestic industry should 
be fostered ; that, the revenue should be sufficient, not for a. 
26 



312 RECAPITULATION. 

wasteful expenditure upon visionary projects, but for the sup 
port of such schemes of public improvement, by roads, canals 
and rivers, as may tend to promote the public vi^eal ; and that, 
in eifecting these objects, Congress may either subscribe 
money in aid of the enterprize of others, or may direct the 
execution of such works, by the ag^ency of the public officers, 
in such way as to the assembled wisdom of the nation may 
seem meet. 

IV. The Tories proclaim it sound policy to reduce the 
price of the public lands to a mere nominal amount; though 
such reduction can have but little effect to promote settle- 
ments, but must create and invigorate speculations, resulting 
in the enhancement of price to the settlers, and probably in 
the foundation of a landed aristocracy : And they also deem 
it wise to encourage the new States of the West in a fraudu- 
lent and threatening demand of the gratuitous gift of all the 
public lands within their respective limits, — generating dis- 
content and bitter animosity among all the States. 

The Whigs hold the public lands to be a beneficiary trust 
for all the States — that, they cannot be sold for a song, nor 
given away without a breach of good faith — that the proceeds 
of their sales may, and ought, when not required for national 
use, to, be appropriately divided among all the States for the 
purpose of internal improvement, in the equitable ratio of 
congressional representation. 

V. The Tories consider the veto as an ordinary power of 
the Executive, to be itsed for the control and direction of the 
legislative power of the representatives of the people, when- 
ever it opposes his notions of expediency — and to be made 
an instrument for rendering the people dependent for their 
happiness upon the President's will. 

The Whigs deem the veto, an extraordinary power, design- 
ed for use upon special occasions, but chiefly for the protec- 
tion of the constitutional rights of the Executive from inva- 
sion — to be rarely and discreetly exercised, to repress some 
great and apparent evil, but never to be employed to thwart 
the sense of the nation on matters of mere expediency, as ex- 
pressed by its appropriate legislative agents, specially, dele- 
gated to provide for its wants. 

VI. The Tories, hold that the President may not only 
negative all laws which he may deem inexpedient, but also 
such as Congress shall presume to initiate, without his pre- 

; vious assent 

The Whigs would confine the President to such powers ia 



RECAPITULATION. 313 

regard to legislation as are given by the Constitution, and 
deem all other claims arrogant and dangerous presumptions. 

VII. The Tories claim, tor the President, the right to ap- 
peal, from the determinations of Congress, to the people, and 
to construe the responses of the people as he shall understand 
them; thereby creating an overruling power wholly irre- 
sponsible, and convertible into his own absolute will. 

The Whigs recognize no power not found in the Constitu- 
tion, while the Constitution is in force; know no mode of ex- 
pressing the popular will, other than through the regularly 
constituted organs of the people; and hold all appeals from 
the established authorities, as the arts of the demagogue to 
obtain, for himself, absolute power. 

VIII. The Tories deny to the Senate of the United States 
the right to inquire into the action of the executive depart- 
ment and the proceedings of its officers; because in case of 
impeachment they may be required to act judicially upon 
charges against such officers: thus depriving the Senate of 
its most important legislative power, that of inquiring into 
and correcting abuses. 

The Whigs affirm, that, the Senate is a legislative body, 
which, except in originating money bills, has as unlimited 
and unqualified legislative powers as the House of Represen- 
tatives; and not only may, but is bound by duty, to, inquire 
into the administration of the Government in all its branches, 
to aid in creating additional means for that administration 
where they are wanted, to investigate and expose abuses, and 
those who commit them, even though the guilty should fill 
the first offices of the State: And they also, believe that the 
Senate should not be diverted from this duty because the ac- 
tion of another body, over which it has no power, may result 
in impeachment. — The offences which may be discovered and 
exposed by the Senate may not be impeachable ; and if they 
be, the Senate is fully as capable of acting impartially, as 
judges, after such inquiry, as the ordinary judges of the land, 
upon ordinary offences, into which, before trial, they make 
inquiry, upon which they express an unequivocal opinion, by 
the commitment of the offender, and upon whom, they subse- 
quently pronounce judgment. 

IX. The Tories maintain, that, in our relations with the 
Indian tribes, might is right ; that, though treaties with them 
were binding in our weakness, they are bonds feeble as flax 
touched by the fire, in our strength ; that the national faith 
solemnly pledged to the natives and to foreigners for the in- 

21 



314 RECA.PITULATION. 

dependence of the Indian race and the safe and uninterrupted 
possession of its lands, is to observed, only, so long as it may 
be enforced by peril in its breach ; but that our power, the 
slave of our interest and convenience, may drive that race 
from the cradles of their children and the tombs of their fa- 
thers into the wilderness, to retrace their steps in the path of 
civilization or to perish in a state, uncongenial to their pre- 
sent habits : And that, the President of the United States 
may refuse to enforce such treaties and the laws made to 
support them, simply by assuming a right to dispense with all 
laws, treaties or otherwise, which he may choose to think un- 
constitutional. 

The Whigs hold, national faith, the most valuable of na- 
tional possessions, because when the hour of trial may come 
that champion is thrice armed who has his quarrel just: 
That, the weakness of the Indian tribes, does not, absolve us 
from the obligations of justice and solemn contract; but gives 
them additional claims upon our kindness and forbearance, in 
the greater need they have for our protection: That, the 
President of the United States is the servant of the law; 
that the obligation of treaties and laws cannot, depend upon 
his sense of their constitutionality ; but that, he is bound by 
the acts of his predecessors and himself in making treaties 
and making laws ; and that if it were otherwise, the right to 
refuse to execute the laws, because he may believe, or pre- 
tend to believe them unconstitutional, would be a power to 
dispense with all laws, and would, indeed, make the Presi- 
dent, what he has assiduously sought to become, the sole gov- 
ernor of the land. 

Upon this concise and imperfect view of the principles 
which animate the prevailing parties of the country, it is ob- 
vious, that we are restored to the political state which exist- 
ed before the election of 1834. — That the country is divided 
between parties impelled by antagonist principles : — That the 
party in power, like all parties in power, has a tendency to 
increase its power; and for that purpose has taken grounds 
that render the Executive paramount to the other branches 
of the Government ; which give to the country, under repub- 
lican forms, a Government, more despotic than monarchy in 
Great Britain or France, and which is operating a revolution. 

That revolution the people, only, can stay, by a reforma- 
tion in the administration; by the election of such representa- 
tives as will not be the servants of the administration, but its 
observers, its reprovers and its prosecutors, when occasion 



RECAPITUL.VTION. 315 

shall require. Does not that House of Representatives need 
reform, whose members, forgetting that they are represen- 
tatives of the people, seek ofiice, distinction or popularity, 
by proclaiming their merits as soldiers of the administration ? 
" I," said Mr. McCarty, of Indiana, in debate, on !2d February, 
1835, " / am an older soldier in the service of the adminis- 
tration than that gentleman, (Mr. Lane) and have defended 
it from the earliest period, and will do so again, as long as 
I have the honour of a seat herey The man who could thus 
devote iiimself to party and to power, is in mind fitted for the 
slavery of an eastern harem, and justice should qualify him, 
physically, for the service. Body and mind should be equally 
emasculated. 

To effect this reformation we appeal to the people, the whole 
people, not to tiie portions of parties, which, in squads of some 
ten to fifty office-seekers, claim to be the people; but to 
that great mass of the community which has no interest in 
the Government, save in its legal and faithful administration. 
That, sooner or later, that people will take their cause into 
their own hands, we cannot doubt ; but, the longer they de- 
lay, the more difficult and perilous will be the effort. We 
say perilous ; for history affords few examples of power ille- 
gally obtained, which has not been maintained by fraud and 
force. 

That revolution will be stayed, but prompt activity is re- 
quired. There are, and must ever be, many points of differ- 
ence in a country so various and extensive as ours. But there 
is an interest dear to all, paramount to all, the preservation of 
the national freedom and integrity. This interest must swal- 
low up all others; in its gratification all must seek delight — 
to preserve it, unanimity is indispensable among all those who 
see and feel the dangers which threaten it. They must sur- 
render, in the selection of a Chief Magistrate, sectional feel- 
ings and personal predilections, and unite upon some individ- 
ual, who shall be the representative of the principles of all, 
in relation to the violations of the Constitution, by President 
Jackson and the party which has used him for revolution. 



APPENDIX A. 



Statemnt showing the dividend of each State (according 
to its federal population) in the proceeds of the public 
lands, after deducting therefrom fifteen per cent, as an 
additional dividend for the States in which the public 
land is situated. 

Estimated proceeds of lands $3,000,000; deduct 15 percent, 
$450,000, and $2,550,000 to be divided among all the 
States according to their population. 



states. 



Maine, 

New Hampshire, 
Massachusetts, - 
Vermont, - 
Rhode Island, 
Connecticut, 
New York, 
New Jersey, 
Pennsylvania, 
Delaware, - 
Maryland, - 
Virginia, - 
North Carolina, - 
South Carolina, - 
Georgia, 
Alabama, - 
Mississippi, 
Louisiana, - 
Tennessee, 
Kentucky, - 
Ohio, 
Indiana, 
Illinois, 
Missouri, - 



Federal population 
1830. 



399,437 
269,326 
610,408 
280,657 
97,194 
297,665 

1,918,553 
319,922 

1,348,072 

75,432 

405,843 

1,023,503 
639,747 
455,025 
429,811 
262,508 
110,358 
171,694 
625,263 
621,832 
935,884 
343,031 
157,147 
130,419 



Share in proceeds of 
public lands. 



11,928,731 



$85,387 48 

57,573 71 

130,487 59 

59,995 93 

20,777 12 

63,631 72 

410,128 29 

68,389 59 

288,176 64 

15,202 93 

86,756 89 

218,793 82 

136,758 45 

97,270 61 

91,880 52 

56,116 22 

23,591 19 

36,702 95 

133,662 21 

132,928 77 

200,063 54 

73,329 59 

33,593 25 

27,879 68 



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